


Strange Happenings

by Sapphy_Hibernis



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Kissing, Multi, Near Death Experience, Somewhat Fluffy, What Have I Done, corrupted gem attack, crazy pearl, gem sheena
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-12-02 03:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 22,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11500518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphy_Hibernis/pseuds/Sapphy_Hibernis
Summary: The Crystal Gems find the mystery girl out cold on the beach.  Its obvious she was attacked by someone, or something...





	1. What Happened To Her?

**Author's Note:**

> I have an ask blog for this fanfic if you want to ask me or any of the characters questions  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/strange-happenings-ask-blog

The beach was quiet, the sand bathed in the light of the setting sun making it look like fire had heated the sand. The ocean was calm as dark waves quietly lapped at the shore. The chime of the warp pad could be heard from inside the temple signaling the return of the Crystal Gems. 

“Can we go get donuts?” Steven asked happily as he skipped off the warp pad and tossed his cheeseburger shaped backpack into the corner of the room. 

“It’s too late for you to go by yourself Steven” Pearl replied gently as she stepped off the warp pad silently with Garnet while Amethyst had already begun raiding the fridge. 

“Hey guys I think donuts is a good idea we’ve got nada here” Amethyst called over as she closed the fridge in annoyance. 

“Come on please! Can’t you guys come with me?” Steven begged giving Garnet and Pearl his cutest face he could muster. 

“I can’t say no to that face” Garnet gave in as the three gems started to follow Steven out of the house and into the cool air of the beach. 

Steven and Amethyst were talking excitedly about all the different donuts they wanted to get while Pearl and Garnet chatted about the mission they had just finished. They walked along the beach heading towards the brightly lit town of Beach city. 

Garnet and Pearl stopped their line of conversation when Steven and Amethyst stopped in their tracks falling completely silent. They ran over to them to assess whatever the problem might be. 

“Steven, Amethyst what’s wrong?” Pearl asked concerned as to why the two rambunctious crystal gems had stopped so suddenly.  
It was then that Pearl and Garnet saw it…. Or rather, saw her….

She lay on her stomach with her head turned to the side. Skin shining like amber in the light of the setting sun, her clothes were torn to ribbons but still clung desperately to her skin. The brown roots of her hair showing upon the top of her head melting into unmistakeable dyed pink hair…..

It was Sheena… The mystery girl from that night that Pearl took Steven and Amethyst to that rock show. Pearl had called her and she had been a frequent visitor ever since… None of them knew why she was here. She and Pearl hadn’t made any plans for tonight and they had been on a mission for the past three weeks tracking corrupted gems. 

Pearl was sure if she had a heart it would have stopped. Sheena was hurt, and it could very well be her fault…  
Garnet quickly but gently picked the pink haired woman up and rushed back to the temple with the others following close behind, the donuts long forgotten.


	2. Sheena's Side

The beach was quiet, only the gentle lapping of the waves could be heard other than the sounds of the city which she was quickly leaving behind. Her soft pink hair was blowing in the wind as she walked along the beach. 

She hadn’t seen Pearl or any of her housemates for the past three weeks. She had assumed they were on a mission like Pearl said they often go on however she really wanted to go to the beach house today for some reason. She loved the smell of the sea as the dark waves lapped at the shore and the withered old stone of the temple that the crystal gems called their home. She loved how beautiful the ocean and the beach looked bathed in the light of the sun as it begun to set. 

She jumped hearing a noise that could only be described as a loud roar, she turned around quickly only to be face to face with a huge monster the kind of which she’s never seen. 

The monster had charcoal black scaly looking skin and different colored spikes protruding out of its body in several places. It had a long snake-like tongue and glowing green slime dripping from its fearsome fanged jaws. Its bright red eyes glinted in the light as it charged at her.

She quickly jumped out of the way and tried to make a run for the temple which was still a ways away from her. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and the fast paced sound of her breathing as she ran, her hair blowing behind her in waves of pink as she so desperately tried to reach the wooden steps of the house. 

The monster swiped a large black paw with crystal-like talons which knocked her off her feet sending her face first into the warm sand of the beach. She turned onto her back looking up at the monster in horror as it stood over her with the gross glowing green slime dripping from its jaws. 

It gave a fearsome snarl as it continued to attack her, using its claws to shred her clothes to ribbons and leave her with several injuries as it continuously dragged her farther and farther from the warm, safe temple. She tried to fight back; kicking, punching and screaming for help… It was no use, it continued to claw at her mercilessly until she was almost certain this thing was going to kill her. 

It sunk its jaws into her waist and shook her like a dog would a chew toy. She was in so much pain she could barely stay awake, the pain was exploding through her body with each jerk of the head, each swipe of its claws. She could feel the gross green ooze seeping into her bloodstream as it shook her back and forth without sign of stopping. 

All of a sudden another loud roar filled the air, shrill and fearsome making her pray there wasn’t more of these monsters around. The monster dropped her like she had burnt it before it quickly turn and ran off in the direction of the roar. Kicking up sand and dripping the glowing ooze onto the sand as it ran off. 

She was left lying in the sand, pain filled her entire being as she lay there. Half covered by the warm sand that the creature had kicked up in its rapid retreat. She felt sick, she was sure the slime from its mouth getting into her bloodstream had something to do with it. The pain from her wounds was making it difficult to stay awake…

Sheena briefly wondered if she would ever see Pearls smiling face again… Amethyst and Garnet playing “Steven Tag” with Steven outside of the temple as her and Pearl sat on the porch drinking iced tea together… She remembered how she convinced Pearl to try the lemony beverage and how her face had exploded in a smile after tasting her new favourite drink….

Sheena wished she would be able to do that again… Drink tea with Pearl as they watched the others play around in the sand with their childish but funny game…

With those last thoughts… Sheena slipped away into unconsciousness


	3. Stressful Days

Pearl sat quietly beside Stevens’s bed, he had started sleeping on the couch to allow Sheena use of the bed until she recovered. He didn’t seem to mind at all, the couch was warm and soft.

Pearl looked over her shoulder at Steven and Amethyst who had both fallen asleep on the couch. She sighed and turned back to look at Sheena, she had been asleep since they had found her on the beach. Pearl was getting more worried by the day.

She couldn’t help but start running her fingers through Sheena’s silky pink hair. Pearl noticed her hair was getting tangled and knotted, she reached a hand up as her gem started to glow with beautiful white light. She reached her hand into her gem and pulled out her hairbrush. She didn’t need to brush her hair, but she liked the perfect practice of brushing her peach colored hair until it was perfectly smooth and silky.

She looked at her brush for a moment, the dark oak wood of the handle shining in the sunlight through the window. She inspected the gold vine-like detailing on the back and handle of the brush. Delicate gold vines and leaves attached to the brush…

_**“Pearl, Pearl” Rose walked into Pearls room where said gem was sulking yet again. Pearl had been sulking in her room often since she had started dating Greg. “Pearl I have a present for you” Rose smiled at the white gem as she hid the wrapped present behind her back.** _

_**“A present? For me?” Pearl looked confused as she turned to face the curly, pink haired gem. Rose was always spending time with that human male nowadays. It made Pearl jealous and upset… She would never admit it out loud though.** _

_**“Yes I do pearl” Rose said with a big smile as she handed the box to Pearl. It was wrapped delicately in rainbow colored wrapping paper and a pretty pale blue bow. “I saw it and thought of you”** _

_**Pearl quietly unwrapped the box and opened it, she gasped in pleasant surprise as she saw the beautiful gift Rose had given her. She could feel herself tearing up from happiness at the sight of it. She gently pulled the hairbrush out of the box, the delicate gold leaves and swirling vines were gorgeous.** _

_**“R-Rose… I don’t know what to say. It’s beautiful…” Pearl gently ran her fingers over the smooth wood and shining gold of the vines. She had never received such an amazing gift in her entire life.** _

_**“I’m glad you like it Pearl”.** _

Pearl felt herself crying and quickly wiped away the tears. She smiled as she gently started brushing Sheena’s soft pink hair. She brushed delicately through her hair, she brushed out all the tangles.

It felt nice to be able to do something, these past few days she hadn’t moved from Sheena’s side. She had been so stressed, but brushing Sheena’s hair was helping her mood a lot.

The stress was getting to all of them. Garnet was spending more and more time in the depths of the temple, pacing around the bubble room as the lava pool bubbled in the center of the room. She would pace around the red stone floor of the bubble room endlessly. Her mind would wander aimlessly as well, she would check her future vision constantly, but she never found anything on Sheena.

She looked up at the bubbled gems and artifacts in the room. The bubbles shining in the light from the lava. Red bubbles, blue bubbles, maroon bubbles, white bubbles, purple bubbles, and pink bubbles all floating in the room.

Garnet checked her future vision again. She groaned as she came up with nothing yet again. She was just as worried as everyone else, she just didn’t want to show it to the others. That’s why she kept herself hidden away in the temple. She sighed for the thousandth time as she silently exited the temple.

She saw the smooth, crystalline surface of the warp pad, the smooth, polished wood of the house, the painting of Rose Quartz above the door, Steven and Amethyst sitting at the kitchen counter staring up at the loft. Garnet followed their gaze until she saw Pearl sitting at the bedside like always. She was humming a tune softly as she brushed Sheena’s hair.

Amethyst sat at the counter with Steven watching Pearl brush Sheena’s hair. She had felt so helpless ever since they found Sheena on the beach. She was sure that Steven felt the same way, Garnet had been the ones to make sure Sheena was comfortable and Pearl kept a watchful eye over her at all times. Amethyst and Steven wanted to help, but they didn’t know how.

Amethyst looked over at Garnet, who had just exited the temple for the first time in twenty two hours. Amethyst had been keeping track for some reason that she didn’t understand. She hadn’t been able to fall asleep since they found Sheena. It’s not like she needed sleep, but she did enjoy it. However her mind was too busy to be able to fall asleep.

She was worried, she knew all of them were. She, Pearl and Steven were the most worried. Garnet was obviously worried too, it was a no brainer, but she hadn’t been there when they first met Sheena on the night of the show. Sheena had been coming around ever since, all of them thought of her as one of their own at this point.

She had tried to distract herself by taking Steven out into the city to visit Greg, arranging for him and Connie to go to Funland together. She could tell it was improving his mood greatly to get out of the house.

She tried to get him out of the house as much as possible. She would orchestrate dates between him and Connie. She would ask Sadie to make milkshakes for them, she would watch to make sure nothing went wrong as they enjoyed their dates. Steven was always blushing all throughout the dates, Amethyst found it adorable, apparently Connie did too.

Steven was scared for Sheena, she had been sleeping for days. He liked it when Amethyst got him out of the house though. He enjoyed his visits with his dad, and even more enjoyed his dates with Connie. Even if he was blushing like goon most of the time, he loved sharing milkshakes with Connie at the big donut, and riding the roller coasters at Funland. It was fun to win prizes for her, and they always had fun together.

He would take her home and say hello to her parents, he would kiss her cheek goodnight, which would make them both blush uncontrollably. He would say goodnight to her and her parents before heading home.

Amethyst was always waiting on the porch steps when he got home. She would ask him how it went and he would tell her everything. They would talk for hours before they would go inside.

However the second they got inside all the stress, worry and fear would return like a tidal wave crashing over them. Both of their moods would plummet back into the dumps after being so high in the clouds just moments before.

They would curl up together on the couch and Steven would eventually fall asleep leaving Amethyst alone with her thoughts.

They all had different ways of coping with what was happening, but they all shared the same thoughts.

_‘Please wake up soon Sheena’_


	4. Temperature Crisis

Sheena wasn’t awake, but she could hear things. She could hear the sounds of ruffling sheets and moving blankets, hear the sound of things being moved around. The sound of footsteps and muffled voices. 

It wasn’t just hearing she could feel things too. She couldn’t feel her torn and bloodied clothing instead it felt warm. Like warm, soft, fuzzy pajamas. 

She felt herself laying on something soft and springy, a bed maybe? She could feel a wet and warm thing being placed on her forehead. It would be changed removed whenever it got cold. 

The muffled voices often fell silent. Leaving her in silence that she didn’t understand. She was scared, it’s been a while since she wasn’t scared. She didn’t know where she was, where the monster went, or even if she would ever wake up. She hoped that she would, that she would be able to see Pearls smile again, and watch Garnet, Amethyst and Steven play on the beach together. 

She could remember one specific day when she was on the porch with Pearl drinking iced tea together. 

The day had been perfect, the sun was shining with not a single cloud in the sky. The sky was a beautiful blue maybe the same color as the pretty dress Pearl had been wearing. 

The ocean was crystal clear, beautiful blue with sunlight shining on the surface. 

She could remember Steven and Amethyst calling out to them. They had looked down and started laughing upon seeing that Steven and Amethyst had buried Garnet up to her neck in the soft, warm sand of the beach. 

Sheena remembered it like it was yesterday, a perfect day…

 

Pearl kept changing the towel on Sheena’s forehead but it didn’t affect her temperature at all. Her temperature would lower drastically or spike suddenly every now and then. It scared Pearl greatly, it scared everyone. They could see her eyes moving behind her eyelids but she still hadn’t woken up yet. 

“You should rest” Pearl jumped in surprise upon suddenly hearing Garnet’s voice behind her. She spun around quickly and looked up at the fusion with exhausted pale blue eyes. 

“G-Garnet I didn’t hear you come in” Pearl blushed embarrassedly, she had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed the fusion had exited the temple or that Steven and Amethyst we’re no longer in the house. 

“You should go try and sleep Pearl it might do you some good” Garnet recommended kindly as she removed her visor to look Pearl right in the eyes. 

“But what if her temperature changes again?” Pearl asked worriedly, she hadn’t left Sheena’s side in almost a week.

“I’ll watch over her, I promise” Pearl looked back at Sheena’s sleeping face before looking back at Garnet.

“But what if-” Garnet cut her off.

“Pearl if you trust me with your life then you can trust me with her life” Garnet argued. 

“Alright fine” Pearl sighed in defeat.

“Get some sleep and take a nice relaxing shower, I’ll take care of her I promise” Garnet shooed her away and Pearl hesitantly went into the temple to get some sleep. 

Garnet sat on the stool beside the bed and watched over Sheena carefully. She took her temperature every five minutes to be on the safe side. 

Garnet felt herself panic when her temperature spiked, it was easy to warm someone up but it was difficult to cool someone down. She removed the cloth and the blankets, trying desperately to cool her down but her temperature was only climbing higher and higher. 

Out of desperation Ruby and Sapphire unfused. Sapphire climbed onto the bed, cuddling up to Sheena. She used her powers to cool her down as Ruby continued to check her temperature. When her temperature took a nosedive they switched places, Ruby cuddled her and used her powers to keep her warm while Sapphire checked her temperature. 

It went like that for hours, Ruby and Sapphire switching places to keep her temperature in the safe zone. Soon enough, Steven and Amethyst came inside. They were shocked to see Garnet unfused, but grew concerned when they saw Ruby and Sapphire switch places to bring her temperature back down again. 

“Where’s Pearl?” Amethyst asked as she and Steven sat at the foot of the bed watching the two small gems. 

“Garnet told her to get some sleep” Sapphire answered as she continued to cool Sheena’s temperature. 

“What are you two doing?” Steven asked curiously.

“I’m keeping track of her temperature, and Sapphire is trying to cool her down after a temperature spike” Ruby explained as she checked the thermometer again.

“Is she going to wake up soon?” Steven asked hopefully

“We’re sorry Steven, but we still don’t know” Sapphire replied sadly. 

They watched Ruby and Sapphire continue to keep track of Sheena’s temperature and switch places whenever it got close to the danger zone. 

Soon Pearl emerged from her room with a teal blue colored towel folded neatly in her hands. A look of shock crossed her face as she saw that Garnet was no longer there, Ruby was the one taking care of Sheena. 

“What’s going on?” She asked concerned as she walked up the stairs only to see Sapphire cuddled up to Sheena using her powers on her. 

“Sheena got a temperature spike so I’m cooling her off” Sapphire explained as she continued using her powers.

“Makes sense” Pearl replied quietly.

“Pearl you’re supposed to be relaxing Garnets orders” Ruby looked at her sternly.

“I am I’m going to shower now” Pearl replied as she descended the polished wood stairs and across the house to the washroom. 

Pearl wasn’t one for sleeping but she quite enjoyed showers, they were always so relaxing to her. The warm water over her skin and the perfect practice of washing her peach colored hair. 

The others could hear the water running in the washroom as Pearl started her shower. Amethyst and Steven went to the kitchen to make dinner for him. 

After stabilizing Sheena’s temperature Ruby and Sapphire smiled and fused back into Garnet. Garnet was happy to be back and even happier that Sheena was stable again. She tried her future vision but once again came up with nothing relating to Sheena’s future. 

 

Sheena could hear muffled voices for a while, every now and then she could feel a temperature shift. She could feel someone next to her, they would get up every now and then. That’s when the temperature would shift from cold to warm then back to cold. 

She could smell someone cooking, it was a warm, delicious smell. She was hungry, but she couldn’t wake up for some reason. Usually her hunger was a good alarm clock but she wasn’t waking up. 

It felt like forever since she’s been asleep, and she desperately wanted to wake up.


	5. The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While re-reading the story for any grammar mistakes, I realised I had never uploaded the 6th chapter, I am truly sorry for that and I am correcting that now

Steven stared out the window of the house.  It had been pouring out there for hours now.  Connie’s parents said they couldn’t drive in the rain to come get her so they said she could stay the night.  He was excited, he’s never had a sleepover with Connie before. 

They had offered to watch over Sheena during the night, they said they wouldn’t get much sleep anyway worrying about what would happen to her during the night.  The gems had reluctantly agreed only because they had a mission to go on and Garnet said it was an all hands on deck mission. 

Connie was in the washroom getting ready for bed, Steven was watching the rain hit the water and the sand from where he sat beside the bed.  Connie’s mom had checked Sheena over when she dropped Connie off earlier in the day.  She said that according to the resources that she had as a human doctor, there was nothing wrong with her. 

She had concluded it as a gem related problem and had quickly left for work.  The gems left soon after to try and catch some corrupted gems.  They had stopped going on missions to take care of Sheena, but they couldn’t ignore it forever. 

Steven watched as the rain picked up outside, he looked down at Sheena as she shifted a bit in her sleep.  For a moment he was excited she might wake up, but he frowned again seeing her settle back into her peaceful sleep. 

He turned around upon hearing the bathroom door open, he saw Connie and his face turned redder then a tomato.  He thought she looked so beautiful, even if it was just his pale blue pajama shirt and violet shorts. 

“W-Wow” He mentally kicked himself for stuttering like an idiot.  He didn’t want to seem like a dork, even if they had been dating for a month now.  He loved everything about her.  He loved her silky brown hair, he loved feeling her soft skin when they held hands, he loved her kind eyes, and he loved everything about her.

Connie also had tomato red blossoming across her face.  Stevens’s pajamas were too big on him but they fit her well enough.  It felt weird to be wearing his clothing, but it was also very comforting. 

“Thank you for letting me borrow your pajamas Steven” Connie smiled at him.  Her mom had no idea they were spending the night alone together watching over Sheena, nor did she have any intention of telling her.  Her parents love Steven, he’s the perfect boyfriend that they wanted for her, kind, considerate, gentlemanly and respectful.  However they wouldn’t like hearing that her and Steven spent the night at his house unsupervised, even if it was just to watch Sheena while the gems were gone. 

“It looks good on you, n-not that you don’t look good- you look good in anyth- you’re very beautif- everything you do is special” Steven was a bright red mess, he’s never been so nervous around Connie before, probably because they’ve never had a sleepover before. 

Connie giggled as she walked over and kissed him on the cheek, his face became an even darker shade of red.  He could feel his heart race from the kiss, she had never kissed him before, even on the cheek. 

A sudden flash of lightning outside signalled the storm was getting worse.  Connie screamed when the lightning flashed.  Steven jumped in surprise and quickly hugged her. 

“Connie what’s wrong!?” Steven was worried, he had never heard a more terrifying scream in his life.  He didn’t know what had caused it, until another flash of lightning and another scream from Connie. 

“Connie are you afraid of lightning?” Steven asked quietly, he would never dream of teasing her about it, they all had fears.  He just wish that she would have told him.  She confirmed his theory with a small nod of her head as she clutched his shirt and buried her head in his chest. 

The roar of thunder echoed through the air along with another scream.  Connie sat upright looking at Steven with wide eyes.  Steven realised that it hadn’t been Connie who had screamed, it had been someone else

The quickly started looking around until Steven looked up at his bed.  His eyes widened as a gasp of shock left him. 

“What is it Steven?” Connie asked following his gaze until she also froze.

There sitting upright in Stevens’s bed, was a very terrified Sheena.


	6. Talking

They ran up the stairs to the loft, so happy that she was finally awake when another flash of lightning, and the loud boom of thunder sent both females screaming in fear. Steven realised that while Connie was scared of lightning, Sheena was scared of thunder. 

“Connie go to the temple door I’ll be right behind you” Steven gently nudged her and she hurried down the polished wood stairs, across the floor, around the crystalline warp pad and to the large door with the star and the gemstones embedded in it. 

Terrified green eyes trained on him as she desperately tried to get up. Steven helped Sheena out of the bed carefully. She was disoriented and having trouble standing but he steadied her and helped her down the stairs, doing his best to keep her from falling. 

He helped her to the temple door and tried to open it. He watched the door automatically open and got both of them silently into the room. He followed soon after watching the door close behind them. 

“Room can we please have a comfy chair and a blanket?” Steven asked politely as the room materialized a pink reclining chair out of clouds. Steven helped Sheena sit down, he gently put the blanket over her lap and made sure she was comfy. 

“Thank you Steven” Sheena smiled as she watched the two children get comfortable on the soft, pink cloud floor of the room. 

“Sheena what happened? You’ve been unconscious for over a week” Steven asked concerned. Sheena looked shocked, she hadn’t known how long she had been asleep, but she hadn’t thought it was that long. 

“I was on my way to see you guys… I was halfway there when something attacked me… It ran off and I passed out…” It was obvious she was also confused, Steven had to focus on keeping the two girls calm until the storm ended. 

“Room can I have a soundproof window to the outside please?” He asked as Connie turned away so she couldn’t see any lightning. A window appeared showing the storm outside the temple. Lightning could be seen, but Connie was turned the other way so she couldn’t see it. No thunder could be heard either. 

Connie cuddled up to Steven enjoying the body heat as he ran his fingers though her soft, brown hair. Sheena watched with a smile from the chair as she curled up under the blanket. 

Connie soon fell asleep on Stevens lap, Steven continued to run his fingers through her silky hair as she slept comfortably. 

“Hey Steven can I have a mirror? I want to see how desperately I need to dye my hair” Sheena requested quietly, she didn’t want to wake Connie.

“Room can Sheena have a handheld mirror?” Steven asked quietly, he didn’t want to wake Connie either. With a small poof of pink clouds a small mirror appeared in Sheena’s hand. 

“Thanks” Sheena said as she started looking at the top of her head. She blinked in confusion when she couldn’t find any brown, not a single brown root of her hair could be seen. 

“Hey Steven, did Pearl re-dyed my hair while I was out?” Sheena asked quietly. 

“No why?” Steven replied confused.

“I can’t see any of my roots. My hair is just pink I don’t see a single strand of brown” Sheena replied as she watched the mirror poof out of existence into a puff of pink cloud. 

“But I just saw them a few hours ago you had a line of brown going down your head”.


	7. The Gems Return

Steven and Sheena watched the window for hours, watching the lightning flash and the rain fall. After a while the lightning stopped, and the rain slowed until it stopped all together, revealing the clear, starry night sky. 

They quietly left Rose’s room and left Connie to sleep peacefully on the couch. Steven went into the kitchen while Sheena sat at the counter quietly. She blushed as they both heard her stomach growl in complaint for food. 

“Oh right you’ve been out for over a week you must be really hungry. Here let me make something for you” Steven offered as he started gathering ingredients for some soup. 

“That would be very nice thank you Steven” She replied as she watched the boy cook. 

The chime of the warp pad signalled the return of the other gems. The column of light soon dissipated revealing Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl standing on the warp pad. 

“Steven how did things go while we were-” Pearl stopped mid-sentence upon seeing Sheena awake and sitting at the kitchen counter. 

All the gems were frozen, it was like seeing a ghost. Sheena had been asleep since they found her, it felt like a dream to see her awake again. Her soft, pink hair was shining in the light of the moon that shone through the windows. She looked at them with warm, summer green eyes as a warm smile graced her lips. 

“SHEENA!” Pearl shouted as she ran forward, almost knocking Sheena off of the stool as she tackled her in a hug. 

Amethyst and Garnet ran after Pearl, they were excited Sheena was finally awake. They all hugged her, asking her many questions, very fast. Connie had woken up from Pearls scream and was watching from the couch as the gems questioned Sheena. 

Sheena tried her best to answer all the questions but was having a hard time keeping up. Garnet seemed to notice and stopped Pearl and Amethyst from asking more questions. 

“Steven do you mind telling us what happened after we left?” Garnet asked politely as they all looked at him. 

“Well Connie went to change into the pajamas I lent her, I was sitting with Sheena watching the rain. When she came out I was trying to tell her she looked pretty” Steven blushed as he said this which made the gems give knowing smirks but they didn’t interrupt him. “Then some lightning happened and Connie’s scared of lightning so I hugged her to try and calm her down, then there was a loud boom of thunder and we heard a scream that wasn’t from either of us. We looked around until we noticed Sheena was awake, she’s scared of thunder which is why she screamed.” Steven explained

“What did you do then?” Garnet probed.

“I took them into moms room and asked for a soundproof window to the outside, when the rain stopped we came out and put Connie on the couch so she could sleep and I was just starting to make some soup for Sheena when you guys came in” Steven explained. 

“Oh that’s right you must be so hungry!” Pearl exclaimed as she looked at Sheena, whose stomach growled in agreement which made them all laugh. 

“Well Steven you can Connie get some sleep while we get Sheena some food” Garnet said before she shooed Steven and Connie off to bed.  
Pearl made Sheena a very delicious meal which she enjoyed wholeheartedly, every last bite. 

“So Sheena how did you re-dye your hair with only being awake for a few hours?” Pearl asked as she continued drying the dishes that Amethyst was washing. 

“I didn’t I had assumed one of you had but Steven said my roots were still showing when you guys left. I don’t know why they’re not showing now, it’s kind of weird” Sheena admitted quietly, not wanting to wake up the kids. 

“Hey Pearl!” Amethyst exclaimed before she spanked Pearl with the wooden spoon she had just been washing, making Pearl yelp in surprise. 

“AMETHYST!” Pearl shouted as the guilty gem, Sheena and Garnet all burst out laughing.


	8. Something's Up

In the days that followed things only got weirder. Sheena was starting to eat less and less, she said she simply didn’t have the appetite but the gems grew concerned. 

Her hair continued to change without anyone dying it. Her brown roots didn’t show anymore, pastel pink hair now started gaining pinkish-white streaks here and there. Pinkish-white running down the silky pink waterfall of her hair. 

Her eyes remained the same summer green but a ring of pink had started showing up along the edge of the iris. Bright, almost glowing pale pink merged with green in a poetic dance-like magic. 

None of the gems knew what was going on and that worried them greatly. Pearl and Garnet had read every book they could get their hands on that could possibly explain what was happening to Sheena but no results. It was frustrating that they couldn’t find what was wrong, at one point they started to consider it might be gem related because of the corrupted gem that had attacked her. 

Garnet and Pearl had been searching for the monster but no such luck. It was nowhere to be found. They searched everywhere, from the overgrown strawberry filled battle fields to the sky spire that stretched up into the clouds. 

The warp pad chimed as Garnet and Pearl returned from yet another fruitless search. They stepped off the smooth crystalline surface of the warp pad and saw Steven, Amethyst and Sheena watching TV on the couch. 

“How did it go?” Sheena asked quietly, even though she already knew the answer.

“Still nothing, we’re sorry Sheena” Garnet replied. 

They were all scared for Sheena, they had no idea what was going on or if Sheena was going to be alright or not. 

She would get dizzy spells and she refused to eat. One day the gems came home to find her passed out on the stairs. Sheena had told them that she was getting a blanket from Stevens’s bed but she got a dizzy spell and ended up passing out. 

The gems were scared for her, but they knew it was much worse for her. She had no idea what was going on just like them, but it was happening to her, it was infinitely scarier for her. 

She tried not to show it, but one look into her pink rimmed, summer green eyes and you would see it, she was terrified. She looked down as her white streaked pink hair shined in the light but cast a shadow over her eyes. Sheena was thankful for the shadow her hair casted over her eyes, it shielded them from the crystal gems as her eyes welled up with tears. 

“We’re going to find out what’s going on Sheena we promise” Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to offer some comfort to the scared woman. 

All of them knew Sheena was crying, they also knew she was trying to hide it so they said nothing. 

Pearl walked over to Sheena gently placing her hand under Sheena’s chin and lifting her head to look her in the eyes. Gently wiping the tears away from pink rimmed eyes as Sheena mentally kicked herself for looking so pathetic in front of them all. Pink rimmed green eyes bore into powder blue ones as they locked gazes.

“It’s ok to cry Sheena, you’re scared you don’t have to hide your feelings from us” Pearl explained softly as if she could read her mind.  
Pearl gently gave Sheena a warm hug in an effort to comfort her.

Garnet, Amethyst and Steven soon joined in on the hug, all of them comforting each other. Sheena felt silly for trying to hide her feelings from them all. They had been nothing but helpful since they found her on the beach, and even after she woke up they’ve been nothing but kind. 

“No more hiding anything” Sheena promised them as she returned their hugs and relaxed into the cuddle pile they had all created.  
They all broke away from the pile eventually, Pearl went to go make dinner and popcorn while Amethyst and Steven begged Garnet and Sheena to come along with them on a quest for the perfect movie. 

Giving their best puppy dog eyes Garnet and Sheena soon caved and followed the two into Amethysts room to begin the search.  
Sheena had never seen Amethysts room before. She was impressed by how much junk had accumulated in the room. Piles and piles of broken electronics and old furniture. She could see a waterfall reaching up into higher areas, this peaked her curiosity as she stared up trying to figure out where the illuminated water was flowing from and splashing down into the small lake inside of Amethysts room. 

“Looking for Pearls room are ya? Naughty naughty Sheena” Amethyst’s voice startled her out of her thoughts making her blush in embarrassment, dark pink spread across her cheeks like wildfire. 

Sheena looked at Amethyst to see her smirking like a teenager who just found out something they could blackmail their older sibling with. Her purple eyes glimmering with mischief and pure evil. 

“Pearl’s room is up there?” She asked confused as she looked back up the strange stream of water once more. 

“Sure is her stuff is always falling down here” Amethyst explained as she led Sheena over to a pile of DVD’s, tapes and CD’s. Sheena was amazed, she had never seen so many in her life! The pile was almost twice her height, stretching above her head looking a little taller than Garnet actually. 

Sheena started looking through the pile with them until she froze dead in her tracks. There sitting in a brand new case, with the plastic sleeve still over it, was her favourite movie of all time. She let out a shout of happiness and picked it up quickly.

“You have Chicago!” She exclaimed as she hugged the case to her chest happily.

“Yeah I took it from Greg’s storage unit” Amethyst shrugged. “Didn’t look like he was using it anyway” She explained lazily.

“This is my favourite movie!” Sheena exclaimed excitedly as the three looked at her with smiles. They had all been so stressed lately, especially Sheena. Seeing her this happy was a rare and honestly adorable treat. 

“Looks like we’ve found our movie” Garnet stated as she easily took the case from Sheena’s hands and walked past her out of Amethyst’s room and out into the house. The three followed close behind Garnet to find that dinner wasn’t ready yet but popcorn and drinks sure were. 

“Are you hungry Sheena?” Steven asked softly, they were all hoping she would eat something. She hadn’t eaten in several days, the last time she ate anything was when Pearl forced her to eat some salmon that she had made for them. 

Sheena was about to say she wasn’t hungry for the eighteenth time that day when she noticed all of their expressions had changed into sickening worry. They were all worried about her not eating. She didn’t want to worry them, even if she didn’t feel hungry at all.

“Yeah, I’ll have something to eat” She replied with a smile as she helped Garnet bring down all the plush pillows and warm, soft blankets from Steven’s loft and set up the living room area so it was nice and comfy for all of them. 

Pearl came over with three bowls of popcorn which were then passed out with Steven and Garnet sharing a bowl, Amethyst getting her own bowl since she hated sharing her popcorn, and a small bowl for Sheena to herself. Pearl had also brought over soda and juice for Amethyst and Steven, water for Garnet and iced tea for herself and Sheena.

It was like before this whole mess, peaceful happiness swirled around the group as they enjoyed the movie. Dinner had been eaten and plates had been cleaned, pausing the movie to wash the dishes before returning to their comfy nest of blankets and pillows that had been strewn about on the floor and couch. 

They would always discreetly turn down the volume whenever a song started in the movie, only to hear Sheena clearly as she sang along to the movie, a beautifully soft voice would ring through the house as she sang, and they loved her singing voice. Sheena hadn’t realised they always turned the volume down, nor did she realise that she had been singing so loud but she loved the movie and the music so much that she most likely wouldn’t care even if she had noticed. 

About halfway through the movie Steven had fallen asleep in Garnets lap, curled up in her arms as he peacefully dozed. Amethyst kept getting up to get more popcorn or soda, always returning with more than she left to get but always consumed all of it. 

As the movies end credits rolled across the screen Sheena turned off the TV and put the disc back in its case so it wasn’t wrecked. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl had taken all the blankets back up into the loft and gotten Steven all nice and tucked in amongst the warm blankets and his stuffed animals. 

They all kissed him goodnight, smiling as they went to head back downstairs only to freeze, non-existent blood running cold as they heard a thump.

Sheena lay on the ground scratching at her chest in a panic, her face scrunched up in pain.


	9. Tense Circumstances

The crystal gems rushed down the stairs towards Sheena. Her face was scrunched up in pain, pink-rimmed green eyes hidden behind eyelids, face damp with sweat as her hands scratched at her chest frantically. 

“Sheena what’s wrong!?” Pearl exclaimed in fear, they didn’t know what was going on or how to help her. 

Sheena looked like she was trying to say something, her mouth kept opening and closing but only low, pained whimpers escaped her.   
Garnet gently moved her hands away from her chest allowing Pearl and Amethyst to take a look at what the problem is. Sheena let out a pained whimper as she looked up at Garnet with terrified pink-rimmed eyes.

Garnet gently stroked Sheena’s hands with her fingers in an attempt to calm her down, pressing her two gemstones against the back of Sheena’s hands as she gently tried to calm her down. Her right gemstone felt cold against Sheena’s hand but her left stone was a warm comfort against Sheena’s other hand. Her shades phased away as she looked Sheena in the eye with her three Heterochromic eyes, red, blue and violet met pink-rimmed green as they locked eyes. Garnet tried to steady Sheena’s erratic breathing by keeping eye contact in an attempt to calm her, she knew Sheena was scared but she had to do something to calm her.

Pearl gently ran her fingers over where Sheena had been frantically scratching at her chest, she felt a bump. It was about the size of Amethyst’s palms, it was hard despite it being soft, human skin. Whatever was the problem seemed to be lying just underneath the layers of skin, Pearl realised that Sheena had been trying to scratch her skin off over the strange bump. 

Amethyst looked between Pearl and Garnet worriedly, she felt so useless, but she didn’t know what to do. She watched Garnets attempts to soothe Sheena as Pearl investigated the issue. She wanted so desperately to do something to help, but she didn’t know what to do. 

She watched as Pearls face went from worried and scared and morphed into absolute terror as she felt for the issue. She watched Garnet gently run her fingers up and down Sheena’s palms as she pressed Ruby and Sapphires gems into the back of Sheena’s hands. 

The whole house was silent except for the sniffles and whimpers from Sheena every few moments but they were slowly petering off somewhat at Garnets efforts. 

“There’s something under her skin” Pearl finally spoke, her voice almost a whisper as she broke the barrier of silence that had only been broken otherwise by Sheena’s soft cries of pain.

“What do you want to do?” Amethyst asked nervously as she looked over at Sheena, her cries and whimpers had died off leaving the house in complete and terrifying silence. It was like a tidal wave swept through the house crashing into all of them as the house became deathly silent. 

They looked at Sheena worriedly but relaxed slightly upon seeing that Garnet had lulled her to sleep just like she would with Steven when he woke up from nightmares. Her eyes were hidden behind her eyelids, hair slightly damp with sweat lay gently pushed out of her face. Her face now relaxed as she slept peacefully. It was hard to imagine it was the same girl who had been whimpering in pain just moments ago.

“I’m going to have to cut the skin away to see what is under there” Pearl said with a shiver, she definitely did not want to hurt Sheena, but they needed to see what the problem was before they could deal with it, and the only way to do that was to cut the skin away to see whatever was underneath. 

“I’ll stay here she’s most likely going to wake up again when you start I’ll have to keep her calm” Garnet replied stoically, gently laying Sheena’s head on her lap as she shifted into a position that would make her legs most comfortable for Sheena’s head to rest on. 

“Amethyst I’m going to need a bowl of water and towels” Pearl listed quickly as she summoned a knife from the expanse of her gem. She would give anything if she didn’t have to cut Sheena’s smooth, beautiful skin but she knew there was no other way to investigate the problem. She looked at the knife, the birch wood handle, the sliver blade gleaming in the light from the moon. 

Amethyst had gone to get the required items and had returned as quickly as possible, she was worried, scared but was happy to be useful in such a situation. She gently spread out a medium sized, light grey towel on the floor beside Pearl before she put the bowl of warm water onto of the towel and laying small red towels beside the bowl. She put one singular small towel into the water so it would be wet when Pearl needed it. 

Pearl hesitantly put the tip of the blade to Sheena’s skin. She was so scared, she could feel the phantom heartbeat from her non-existent heart racing as she gulped nervously. 

She looked at Amethyst as she sat there awaiting more orders to fetch or do things for Pearl while she did this, she looked just as scared as Pearl felt. She then looked up at Garnet who was gently running the fingers of her right hand through Sheena’s hair as her left hand continued to gently run her fingers up and down Sheena’s hand. Garnet looked back at her with her three Heterochromic eyes, she nodded her head to let Pearl know that she was ready in case Sheena woke up while this was happening. 

None of them wanted to do this but it was something that had to be done. 

Pearl let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, steadying herself as she gently pressed the tip of the blade into the skin of Sheena’s chest. She cut away layers of skin, blood starting to bead up from the wound. 

Amethyst turned her head away, she couldn’t bear to watch Pearl cutting Sheena’s chest in such a way. 

Garnet looked down at Sheena’s face looking for any sign she might wake from her slumber. Her face scrunched up from pain but she didn’t wake, not yet anyway, Garnet didn’t know if Sheena would even wake up during this but there was a high possibility she would. 

Pearl felt sick, she had never felt so sick in her entire life, not even when she tried to eat things. She hadn’t shapeshifted a stomach but she felt like she was about to throw up. She continued to cut layers of skin, she felt so disgusting for doing this to Sheena while she was asleep like this, but she was secretly thankful that Sheena wasn’t awake to watch her do this. 

The blade made a noise as it scraped against something, Sheena made a pained noise but still did not wake, however Amethyst and Garnet had both looked at the knife in startled curiosity.

Pearl hesitantly continued to cut skin away being careful not to scrape whatever was under there again as it seemed to cause Sheena a lot of pain. She let out a silent sigh of relief as she finished cutting away all the skin that was required. She was glad she didn’t have to continue hurting Sheena in such a way. 

She grabbed the wet towel and started to gently clean away the blood, she cleaned all the blood away feeling sick. She looked at what had been the cause of all this pain in the first place and gasped, stunned into silence as she dropped the knife onto the wooden floor with a clamoring thud as the three gems looked into the wound to see the source of all of this. 

They were all speechless, they stared in shock, confusion and slight horror as everything that had happened since Sheena woke up, fell into place like puzzle pieces.


	10. Oh I Get It Now

The pink hair that didn’t need to be re-dyed, the white streaks that appeared in her hair, almost like something out of a fairy-tale. 

Summer green eyes gaining a pale pink rim around the edge of the iris, colors fading into each other with graceful beauty that couldn’t be described.

The loss of appetite, declining and often refusing to eat all together. Not being hungry despite not having eaten in days. 

All the puzzle pieces swirled together and clicked in place to complete the puzzle of the greater picture. All the stressful things they had been worrying about since Sheena woke up now suddenly clear as day as they stared at what had been lying beneath Sheena’s smooth skin.  
They stared at the wound in disbelief, they had never once even thought it was possible. 

There sitting in the hole that Pearl had cut into Sheena’s skin, was a gem. 

A gemstone sat in the wound, pink as cotton candy, delicate white streaks running across the smooth gemstone. It had a bit of a bloodstain from the wound but the gem was unmistakeable, it was impossible to look away. 

“It’s a gem?” Amethyst asked confused as she leaned in to get a closer look.

“Amethyst careful” Garnet warned as she moved the smaller gem away from Sheena. 

“Amethyst can you go get the firs aid kit? I need to clean the wound” Pearl requested as she wiped more blood away from the pale pink gem.

“Got it” Amethyst said as she stood up and walked to the washroom to fetch the first aid kit like Pearl asked.

“What kind of gem is it?” Pearl asked confused as she looked a bit closer trying to make out any clue as to what it is. 

“It could be a pink lace agate, or it could be pink calcite” Garnet stated as she kept running her fingers through Sheena’s hair. 

Amethyst soon returned with the white and red first aid kit, she brought it over to Pearl silently and put it down next to her before sitting a few feet away watching what was happening. 

Pearl started to clean and bandage the wound, she still felt sick after cutting the skin like that but at least they knew what had been happening, why everything was happening and what the cause of all the weird changes that had been taking place were.

Sheena stirred, pink rimmed eyes opened sleepily as she looked up at Garnet. Pink rimmed green eyes looked up into red, blue and violet. The pain hit her again making her cry out in pain, strained vocal cords sore from all the crying and whimpering from earlier. 

She looked around and saw Amethyst sitting off to the side, bangs covering her left eye as she stared at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world. 

Pearl was putting bandages over her chest for some reason that Sheena didn’t understand. The pain seemed to be sourced from below the bandages but it was spreading like wildfire throughout her whole body. 

She didn’t know when she fell asleep, nor did she know what happened while she was asleep. She also didn’t know why Amethyst was acting weird and why Pearl as bandaging up her chest. She could feel fear creeping into her body and filling her completely with terror. 

“W-What happened?” She mentally kicked herself for stuttering in front of them when asking such an important question. 

“We had to remove some of your skin to investigate what was making you feel pain…” Pearl explained as she tied the bandages to keep them in place. 

“What was the cause?” Sheena asked, curiosity peaked at the idea of knowing what has been causing her pain. 

“You have a gemstone embedded in your chest” Pearl replied in a tone that made her sound like she didn’t believe it herself. 

“A gem? Like your gems?” Sheena asked confused as she found herself staring at Pearls gem on her forehead. 

“We believe so” Garnet replied from behind her.

“Can I see?” Sheena asked curiously as she tried to sit up, she winced as pain shot through her body as she attempted to sit up. 

“Careful” Garnet warned as she brought Sheena back onto he floor to lay down. 

“The wound needs to scab over first” Pearl explained softly as she packed up the first aid kit and folded the towels. It seemed like she was trying to distract herself by cleaning up the supplies, folding towels and emptying out the bowl. 

“Get some more sleep Sheena, we’ll watch over you until morning, we’ll talk about this then” Garnet promised as she ran her fingers through Sheena’s hair again as Sheena’s eyes slowly closed and she drifted off into slumber once more. 

Pearl and Amethyst set to work on cleaning the towels and the bowl, Amethyst put the first aid kit back in its original position. Pearl felt so guilty for harming Sheena like she had, even if it had been necessary to figuring out the problem. 

Garnet made sure Sheena was comfortable as she settled in for a long night of watching over the poor woman. 

Sheena awoke to the sounds of seagulls outside, and the sound of chatter in the kitchen. She could smell bacon, pancakes and eggs cooking on the stove but she didn’t feel hungry. She wondered if last night had been real, the pain, the bandages, Garnet lulling her to sleep as she ran her fingers through her white streaked pink hair. 

“Steven, Amethyst shh we don’t want to wake Sheena” Garnet whispered from what sounded like right above her, her voice sounded more relaxed and calm then last night. 

“Sorry Garnet” They apologised quietly before continuing their conversation in hushed tones. 

She opened her eyes, wincing silently at the sunlight coming in through the windows making her eyes sting from the sudden light. She looked up into Garnets three eyes as they stared down at her with an affectionate smile. 

She smiled back up at the fusion as she rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. Garnet helped her sit up gently so she didn’t hurt herself, the pain in her chest was still there but it was a dull pain, nowhere near what it was like last night.

“Mornin’” Garnet greeted as she helped Sheena stand up.

“Good morning” Sheena replied politely as she walked over to sit at the counter with Steven and Amethyst as Garnet leaned against the counter in her signature cool pose. 

“Feeling better Sheena?” Pearl asked as she served Steven his bacon and pancakes, pouring syrup over the pancakes in elegant swirls before giving Amethyst her huge breakfast of eggs, pancakes and bacon all on one plate. 

“Much better thank you” Sheena replied watching Steven and Amethyst dig into their breakfasts.

“Hungry?” Pearl asked, knowing Sheena most likely will say no but at least she now knew why Sheena had lost her entire appetite.  
“No thanks” She replied politely with a smile. 

“Alright, after breakfast I can remove the bandages and you can take a look, we’ll have to have a conversation about it though” Pearl explained carefully as Sheena nodded in understanding. 

After breakfast Steven left for another date with Connie as Garnet and Amethyst cleaned up the dishes from breakfast and Pearl took Sheena to the washroom so she could remove the bandages.

Layers of bandages fell away revealing the slightly dirtied pink gemstone that shone proudly from its place in Sheena’s chest. Pearl grabbed a cloth and wet it with tap water before gently cleaning the stone. Sheena gasped softly as the cloth made contact with the gemstone. 

“I’m sorry is it sensitive?” Pearl paused for a moment, concerned she might have hurt Sheena again.

Sheena nodded silently as she watched Pearl “I think it’s because I’m not used to it” Sheena replied logically as Pearl gently continued to clean the gemstone. The wound around it had completely vanished leaving only the gemstone sitting proudly in-between her breasts.  
Sheena looked in the mirror when Pearl finished cleaning the stone. She inspected it curiously, almost tempted to touch it, but thought better remembering how sensitive it was to Pearl cleaning it off. 

“Have you ever seen something like this before?” Sheena asked as she turned, training her pink rimmed eyes on Pearl. 

“No I’ve never seen anything like this, that’s why we hadn’t realised until what happened last night” Pearl said as she casted her gaze onto the floor in guilt.

“There’s no need to look so guilty Pearl, you did what you had to do” Sheena said as she gently placed a comforting hand on Pearls shoulder. 

Pearl looked up at Sheena, pink rimmed green met powder blue as they locked eyes with each other. They knew they would find a way to get through whatever lied ahead, they smiled at each other as they left the washroom to re-join Garnet and Amethyst in the main room.


	11. Training and Practice

“Come on Sheena you can do it!” Amethyst encouraged sitting on the kitchen counter as a cat, she was trying to teach Sheena how to shapeshift but she had only been able to shapeshift her nose so far, she had turned her nose and mouth into a ducks beak which had sent all the crystal gems into a fit of giggles, even Garnet had been laughing.

“I’m trying Amethyst” Sheena replied trying really hard to think of being a cat, which is what they were trying to work on now. Sheena could feel herself shift but it didn’t feel like that big of a change.

“AWWWWW” Amethyst snapped her out of her concentration with her exclaim.

“What? What happened?” Sheena asked worriedly as she looked at the purple gem sitting on the counter.

“You have kitty ears!” She exclaimed happily.

“I do?” Sheena asked confused as she walked over to the mirror Pearl had brought out earlier.

Pink rimmed green eyes widened in shock upon seeing two small pale pink, white tipped cat ears sitting on her head. She timidly reached a hand up and touched one of the ears gently. She gasped, she hadn’t expected them to be so sensitive to touch, and they were very soft too. It was like touching a really soft blanket.

“I guess I do” She said quietly as she continued to examine in new ears.

“You have a tail too!” Amethyst was so excited that Sheena just found absolutely adorable.

Sheena turned sideways still looking in the mirror, and sure enough there was a pale pink, white tipped tail sticking out from under her clothes.

“Hey look on the bright side, at least it’s not cat fingers” Amethyst smirked.

“Cat fingers?” Confused, she had no clue what Amethyst was talking about, what the hell were cat fingers? Was it some kind of inside joke?

“Ah, forget about it. I’m sure one of the others will tell you about that someday” Amethyst dismissed quickly, she didn’t want to scare Sheena with stories of Steven’s creepy cat fingers when she was still nervous about shapeshifting.

She concentrated very hard and soon the tail and ears disappeared in small shimmers of light.

“That was good” Amethyst complemented, as the master of shapeshifting amongst the crystal gems she had been put in charge of Sheena’s shapeshifting training.

“Oh Amethyst it seems like I’ll never get this” Sheena sighed upset, she had been at this for hours but it seemed like she wasn’t getting any better at all.

“Maybe we should take a break, I don’t wanna stress ya out” Amethyst replied shifting back to her normal form.

“Why don’t you go watch Steven and Connie’s sword fighting practice, they’re really good!” Amethyst suggested helpfully as she hopped down from the counter to start raiding the fridge again.

Sheena thought about it for a moment, she had never seen Steven and Connie practice before, it might be interesting to watch.

“Alright, they’re at the cloud arena right?” She asked.

“Yeah just warp up there” Amethyst replied casually as she brought lots of food and condiments out of the fridge.

Sheena looked over at the smooth, crystalline surface of the warp pad, she had learned how to use it a few days prior, but it still made her a bit uncomfortable to use it by herself. She hesitantly walked over and stepped onto it, and warped herself to the cloud arena.

Sheena stumbled off the warp pad and leaned on the wall of the arena’s entrance. She always felt dizzy after using the warp system for some reason, after a few moments of feeling disoriented, she regained her senses and climbed the stairs of the arena to the entranceway.

She walked through the entranceway to see Garnet sitting on the stairs with a sign in her hand. She quietly went over and sat beside the happy looking fusion, the sign had ‘GO Steven + Connie’ on one side, and ‘GO Stevonnie’ on the other.

“Hey Garnet, how’s everything going?” Sheena asked politely, as she began to watch the practice session.

“They’re really good especially when fused” Garnet replied proudly.

Sheena turned her attention to the sparing match taking place before her. Pearls sword hit Steven’s shield, bouncing off as it was deflected. Swords clashed in loud clangs ringing through the air.

Sheena sat watching in stunned amazement at their graceful but dangerous movements.

“Alright Stevonnie, I think that’s enough for today” Pearl said slightly out of breath. They had been sparing for well over 2 hours, and several more hours before they had decided to practice as Stevonnie, and she was feeling the need for a break.

“Yes ma’am” Stevonnie replied before a shimmer of light returned Stevonnie into Steven and Connie holding hands where Stevonnie stood mere seconds beforehand.

Garnet gently put her sign down on the steps and went over to talk to Steven and Connie as they cooled down from their intense training session. Meanwhile Sheena walked over to Pearl.

“Nice moves” Pearl jumped, having not expected to hear Sheena’s voice coming from behind her.

“S-Sheena when did you get here?” Pearl stuttered out in surprise, she hadn’t heard the familiar chime of the warp pad, nor had she seen the new gem enter the arena.

“Just a few minutes ago, Amethyst thought we should take a break since I was getting frustrated” Sheena explained, she was quite frustrated with not being able to get a good grip on shapeshifting.

“I’m sure you’ll get it, you got using the warp pad pretty quickly” Pearl replied trying to cheer her up a bit.

“Yeah about that… I’m still getting dizzy every time I use them” Sheena looked down, she hated admitting her flaws to the gems, but she needed to tell them if something was bothering her, it drove her crazy to keep secrets from them.

“That’s odd…” Pearl put her hand to her chin in thought.

Sheena noticed she did that quite often when thinking. Actually, she had started noticing more and more about the gems. She noticed that Garnet would only take her shades of for her or Steven but never for Pearl or Amethyst. She also noticed that Amethyst tended to prefer eating tea bags then newspaper, a weird thing to know about Amethyst to be sure, but it was still an interesting thing all the same. She noticed that Pearl tended to engage in more human activities when she was around, like eating and drinking, even if it wasn’t that much.

“I’ll be sure to look into it” Pearl replied finally “So how are you enjoying your room?” She asked, obviously wanting to change the subject to something easier to talk about.

“Oh it’s lovely, and you all spent so much time making it for me, it really shows. It’s perfect” She replied happily while thinking of her room in the temple.

_**“Come on Sheena we have a surprise for you!” Steven exclaimed excitedly as he guided Sheena by the hand to where the rest of the crystal gems stood by the temple door. “** _

_**Ok Steven I’m coming” She replied as she followed the energetic half gem towards the others.** _

_**“** _ _**What’s all this about?” She asked as Steven let go of her hand and went to stand beside Pearl.** _

_**N** _ _**one of them replied, Garnet silently stepped to the side revealing a new gemstone on the door of the temple. It was outside of the star, in-between Ruby and Sapphires gems. The gemstone glowed for a moment before the door opened and light came through the door, blinding her for a moment before she stepped in.** _

_**The room held polished pink flooring, so clean you could see your reflection clearly. A soft bed, circular in shape, sat in the corner of the room. Plush, pale pink pillows with white trim lay on the bed nice and neat against each other. Soft, fluffy pink blankets lay across the bed, neat with no wrinkles to speak of. Delicate pink drapes or sheer circled around the bed beautifully, it looked almost like a princess bed from fairy tales her mother used to read to her when she was younger.** _

_**The bed looked so comfortable she had to resist the urge to jump on it then and there and just relax into the soft bed.** _

_**A shelf sat by the bed that, surprisingly, housed her most favourite books. She didn’t know how they had figured out all her favourite book titles, or even how they had gotten them all in hardcover.** _

_**Stained glass windows, which still had sunlight coming through them despite being inside the temple, showed portraits of all of them beautifully portrayed in the stained glass pieces.** _

_**Sheena wandered around the room looking at all the different windows, all the intricate designs and pieces, all the pictures that the glass shards created so beautifully. The first one showed Amethyst, standing proud, gemstone glowing beautifully as she smiled that adorable smile she gave whenever she did something to annoy Pearl on purpose.** _

_**The next one showed Steven sitting on a hill with Connie, smiling innocently as he stared up at the stars, stars in his eyes as he held Connie’s hand. It seemed to capture his innocence and adorable smile flawlessly. She believed the window captured their innocent love for each other just so perfectly, it was just so adorable to her.** _

_**Sheena couldn’t help but admire the one of Pearl. She was dressed like a ballerina, her movements that were captured so perfectly in the stained glass of the window, such graceful movements that she couldn’t even begin to describe. The window had her dancing through space, stars floating around her as she danced.** _

_**The next depicted Garnet. Blue and red mist swirling around her gracefully, obviously representing Ruby and Sapphire, gems glowing with outstretched hands. Her shades weren’t present the window, her three, beautiful heterochromatic eyes open and dazzling, sparkles were around her head making her look absolutely beautiful. She felt she could stare at the window for hours. The intricate colors, the stunning details of Garnets eyes, and the slightly tinted glass showing her glowing gemstones.** _

_**The window next to it had Ruby and Sapphire, they were dancing happily with blue, red and purple hearts surrounding them, Sapphire’s bangs parted to the side, showing her singular blue eye which shone with happiness while gazing lovingly into Ruby’s eyes. Ruby danced with Sapphire, the window showed her love for Sapphire clear as day with half lidded eyes stared into Sapphire’s one, blue eye.** _

_**Another one showed Pearl, Garnet and herself. She was in the middle, smiling with eyes closed, a blush dusted across her cheeks. Pearl sat to her left, she looked so peaceful in the window, powder blue eyes hidden behind closed eyelids. Garnet was on her right with her arms around both her and Pearl, eyes also hidden behind eyelids as she smiled happily.** _

_**Sheena then saw the last of the windows, it was beautiful. All of them, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Steven, Connie, and herself. They were all in the last window, they were all sitting on a hill under a pretty cherry blossom tree. All of them seemed to be laughing and enjoying themselves.** _

_**Sheena looked back at the gems, they all looked nervous, as if they thought there was a possibility she wouldn’t like the room.** _

_**She smiled, she could feel herself tearing up as she quickly hugged them all. “** _

_**Oh thank you, this is so amazing, no one’s ever done something like this for me I love it!” She exclaimed happily.** _

_**All the gems hugged her back, Sheena couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.** _


	12. Fights

The cloud arena was loud with excitement, Steven, Connie, Garnet, and Amethyst cheered from the stands. Loud clangs, swords clashing, more cheering. Steven and Garnet sat on one side, cheering Pearl on. Connie and Amethyst sat on the opposite side of the arena, they were cheering Sheena on. 

Sheena had started training with Pearl a few week before hand, and she was getting really good. Her and Pearl were fighting at the moment, swords clashing, bodies jumping and rolling out of the way of strikes they couldn’t block. 

Cheers erupted from their friends, cheers of ‘You can do it Pearl!’ and ‘Kick her butt Sheena!’ filled the arena as they fought. 

Sheena dropped into a roll as Pearl swiped at her, nearly dodging the sword in time. She swung her sword at Pearl, who jumped over it, flipping over Sheena who spun on her heel to block Pearl’s next sword strike. 

With a flick of her wrist, Pearl sent Sheena’s sword flying out of her hands and across the arena. Sheena backed up quickly, she knew she couldn’t just run for the sword, otherwise it would leave herself open for Pearl to attack. It was a friendly sparing match but Pearl would tackle her to the ground without hesitation if she did that. 

“Give up Sheena?” Pearl asked smugly as a smirk spread across her face, nose turned in the air showing she was definitely feeling superior.

“Not a chance” Sheena replied, a bit more cocky then she intended to sound.

Pearl laughed before charging at her again, Sheena knew she was in a bad spot, no sword, and no place to run without leaving herself vulnerable. 

A swell of confidence rose from her chest, spreading through her whole body. She didn’t know why she was feeling so confident but she sure liked it. Pearl was getting closer and closer, there was nowhere to go. 

As if by instinct honed by hundreds of years of practice, Sheena placed a hand at her gemstone as a bright pink light shone from it. She could feel something in her hand, she saw Pearls eyes widen in shock, she steps slowing from the surprise as Sheena pulled her hand away from her gem, pulling a weapon with it.

Gasps filled the arena, Sheena stared at the weapon in her hands with stunned silence. It was an axe, just a one sided axe. 

The handle of the axe was green, like emerald green, the color of her eyes, it had sharp, dark pink gemstone at the end of the handle, and white vines swirled around the handle elegantly. The blade was pale pink, with white markings covering the blade in beautiful swirls.

Pearl had stopped her charge, Sheena hadn’t ever summoned a weapon before. They didn’t even think she could at this point, but there she was, holding the beautiful weapon in her hands. 

It seemed like a perfect fit for her, to have an axe as her weapon, it was beautiful, but strong. She could tell that Steven, Amethyst and Connie wanted to question Sheena about her new weapon, she knew it was hopeless to try and keep them from doing that.

“I think that’s it for today Sheena” Pearl said as she put the sword away in her gem, retrieving the other sword from the other side of the arena before doing the same. 

All at once, Steven, Connie and Amethyst were questioning Sheena about her new weapon. Pearl smiled, it was exciting, she had been so sure that Sheena wouldn’t ever summon a weapon, just like Peridot, but now she had summoned her weapon, it was actually a great comfort to Pearl, knowing Sheena would be able to protect herself on missions now. 

Sheena sat at the kitchen counter, it had been hours since she had summoned her weapon in the cloud arena, she had figured out how to make it go away, however she could figure out how to make the kids go away. Steven, Connie and Amethyst had been grilling her for hours, question after question, she didn’t know there was that many questions that could be asked about one little incident. 

“Alright you three you’ve bothered her enough. Why don’t you go get dinner on the boardwalk” Garnet shooed them away from her, Sheena couldn’t be more grateful for the interruption.

“Ok guys you heard Garnet, let’s move out!” Amethyst exclaimed before leading Steven and Connie out of the house. 

Sheena sighed in relief. “Thanks Garnet”

“You looked trapped” Garnet said, amusement dripping from her voice.

Sheena laughed quietly, she supposed she most likely looked trapped being asked question after question of hours on end. 

Pearl warped in, she had gone off somewhere. Garnet and Sheena automatically grew serious, Pearl had ignored all of them when they asked her where she was going and just warped out without a moment’s hesitation. Neither of them were impressed by her behaviour since Sheena summoned her weapon. 

“Where have you been?” Garnet asked, Sheena could hear the anger in her voice, she knew not to cross paths with Garnet when she’s angry, she learned that by watching her on a mission one time. A gem monster had poofed Amethyst, Garnet hadn’t shown much mercy other than poofing and bubbling the gem. 

“I went out” Pearl replied, it was such a generic reply, it almost made Sheena roll her eyes. 

“Pearl you can’t just disappear” Sheena stated quietly

“I can if I want to” Pearl snapped, Sheena was stunned, Pearl’s never acted like this before. “I just came here to warp to the cloud arena” She replied before a chime and beam of like and she was gone. 

“I’m going after her” Sheena got off the stool and walked to the warp pad. 

“I’ll join you in a bit I have to wait for the others to get back first” Garnet replied, Sheena nodded before warping away. 

She stumbled off the smooth surface of the warp pad, quickly regaining her senses as she headed up the old stairs. She had been getting better with the warp pads but she still got a bit sick whenever she used them. 

She entered the arena, Pearl stood in the center, she seemed deep in thought as she stood there. Sheena walked up behind her, loud footsteps echoed through the empty area. 

Pearl looked at her, she seemed annoyed, Sheena didn’t know why she looked like that, but she wanted to find out. She walked closer, stopping a few feet away from the annoyed gem. 

“Pearl what’s wrong? Did I do something to upset you?” Sheena asked confused, she had never wanted to upset Pearl, but maybe she had by accident. 

Sheena felt startled when she saw Pearl roll her eyes, Pearl had never acted like this before. Had it been something she said?

“You think everything is about you don’t you?” Pearl asked in an annoyed tone, nose turned up slightly in the air, lips closed in a frown. 

“I, w-what?” Sheena’s eyebrows pressed together in confusion, what did Pearl mean by that?

“You think everything is about you, well I have a newsflash for you it’s not, it’s not always about you Sheena” Pearl snapped.

Sheena took a step back, why was Pearl acting like this? Did she make it all about herself? Was Pearl right? No she was usually kind and considerate, Garnet even said so…

“I never said it was about me Pearl” Sheena replied, she didn’t know what the cause of this behaviour was but she didn’t deserve to have Pearl snap at her like this for no reason. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Pearl mocked her in a soft, obviously fake tone of voice. 

“I was just asking if I upset you, you’ve been acting weird all day! I just want to know if I did something wrong so I can try to fix it!” Sheena exclaimed, her own anger was rising, she didn’t like Pearl’s attitude right now. 

“Yeah, you did do something! You need to back off! YOU NEED TO STOP BEING SO CLINGY!” Pearl shouted.

Sheena’s eyes widened, she hadn’t been clingy, she never begged Pearl to stay near her, she never asked anyone to stay with her when they were about to leave, she never asked for anything unless she absolutely had to. She really didn’t know where this was coming from. 

Sheena could feel anger filling her whole body, Pearl had no right to be acting like this.

“Pearl I’m not clingy, if you think I am then I’m sorry but you need to look up clingy in the dictionary to check your facts!” Sheena snapped, she wasn’t having this, Pearl was telling at her for literally no good reason and she wasn’t going to sit there and take it. 

“I know what it means! You need to stop assuming!” Pearl growled out

“Assuming? Like how you always assume that no one can beat you?” Sheena snapped in anger.

“Is that a challenge?” Pearl narrowed her eyes at Sheena in a vicious glare.

“I guess it is” Sheena didn’t want to fight her, but if there was even a small chance Pearl would stop acting like this, then she had to take it.   
Pearl summoned the two swords they had been sparring with earlier, throwing one to Sheena before readying her stance. Powder blue eyes narrowed at her, Pearl dropped into her low crouch, obviously ready for the fight.

Sheena got into her own stance, she knew now. This wasn’t friendly sparring this time, Pearl was dead serious, and one had to surrender before this fight would end. 

Pearl charged her, blade swiping at her as Sheena jumped backwards and swiped at her feet. Pearl jumped, flipping over Sheena and landing behind her, kicking her in her lower back sending Sheena tumbling forward onto the ground. 

Sheena spun quickly, sweeping her foot to knock Pearl off balance. Pearl jumped over and swung at her head, Sheena ducked, eyes wide, Pearl had really just tried to kill her!

Pearl charged her again, the deadly blade gleaming in the light of the setting sun, Sheena jumped to the side, rolling quickly to avoid being struck. Sheena swung quickly, but Pearl was faster. Pearl spun on her heel, swords clashing as she blocked Sheena’s attack. 

Their eyes met, Sheena’s confused, green eyes met Pearl’s angry, powder blue ones. Pearl dropped quickly, sweeping her leg to knock Sheena over. Sheena jumped backwards, taking another swing at Pearl. 

Pearl jumped back, just like Sheena had moments before, she weaved, jumping from side to side as she backed towards the edge of the arena. Sheena charged at her, she just wanted this whole mess to be over. 

“I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT YOU!” Sheena screamed as she ran at her, she didn’t want to fight Pearl, she truly didn’t. It was the only way to get Pearl to stop acting like this, Pearl wanted the fight, and Sheena did not.

Pearl raised her leg, one strong kick to Sheena’s chest, which hit its mark without fail as Sheena’s sword fell from her grasp. 

Sheena went flying to the other side of the arena, Pearl was indeed stronger then she looked. 

Sheena hit the wall above the entrance, a sickening crack echoed through the silent arena.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Whelp that happened...  I'm going to take a bit of a break, just a hour or two, that scene was kinda intense to write.  If any of you have any questions though and you have tumblr then by all means click the link and submit your questions https://strange-happenings-ask-blog.tumblr.com/ hope you enjoyed the new chapter thanks for reading)


	13. Intervention

The crack echoed through the air, Sheena’s body dropped onto the stairs, tumbling back down to the floor of the arena. A trail of blood stained the stairs where she had tumbled down.

Sheena weakly opened her eyes, her body was in so much pain she compared it to the day that gem monster had attacked her. She was dazed, but she could see Pearl walking towards her, no intent of stopping.

Pearl walked over to the pink haired gem, anger clouded her thoughts, and all she could see was red as she raised the sword above her head, about the finish the battle for good.

Sheena found herself remembering all the nice times with Pearl, before all this happened, going on picnics together, Pearl showing her old gem structures, teaching each other about their cultures, Drinking iced tea as they watched Garnet and Amethyst play with Steven.

She remembered all the good times as she wondered if Pearl was really about to kill her. She soon found her eyes fluttering closed, unable to keep awake any longer.

Pearl moved, about to stab Sheena with her sword. Powder blue eyes widened as her sword was grabbed out of her grasp by a dark purple whip and she was yanked away from Sheena.

Amethyst stood over Sheena, her whip in her hand, Pearl’s sword in the other. Indigo eyes filled with anger as she glared at the taller gem, she threw the sword off to the side, her whip remaining in her hand in case Pearl got the chance to try and attack Sheena again.

Garnet had her arms around Pearl’s stomach, she hadn’t seen Pearl hurting Sheena in her future vision, and she felt very guilty that she hadn’t prevented this.

“Amethyst get Sheena somewhere safe” Garnet ordered, she wanted Sheena somewhere Pearl couldn’t hurt her, preferably some place she could get medical attention.

Amethyst nodded silently, she shapeshifted herself into purple puma, she needed extra muscle. She picked up Sheena quickly and ran for the warp pad, she could see blood soaking Sheena’s clothing and she picked up her pace.

Steven was just saying goodbye to Connie when Amethyst warped in, panic written all over her face as the two kids ran over. They saw Sheena in Amethyst’s arms, she was bleeding and unconscious.

“Amethyst what happened!?” Steven asked concerned, he had never seen Amethyst looking so scared before, it was chilling.

“Pearl attacked Sheena, Garnet said to take her somewhere safe” Amethyst got out quickly, she didn’t know what was happening back at the arena and at the moment, she didn’t care.

“We can bring her to my house, my mom’s outside, she can help” Connie offered, it was unsettling seeing Sheena so still, or Amethyst so freaked. Amethyst nodded as the trio ran outside, Connie’s mom saw them coming and unlocked the car, she could ask questions later.

Connie got in the front seat, quickly securing her seatbelt while Amethyst and Steven got in the back, Amethyst kept Sheena clutched to her chest.

“What happened?” Mrs. Maheswaran asked as she drove away.

“She got hurt, Garnet told me to get her somewhere safe” Amethyst explained, she didn’t want to mention Pearl by name. Amethyst was mad at Pearl for sure, but it didn’t mean she was going to reveal that Pearl hurt one of Connie’s friends.

At that moment, they were approaching the fork that would either take them to the Maheswaran residence, or turn right and head towards the hospital where she had just finished her 12 hour shift.

Mrs. Maheswaran turned right, heading for the hospital.

The second they entered the hospital Mrs. Maheswaran snapped into action, calling out for other doctors, ordering nurses to prep a room in the ER as fast as possible.

A nurse came and took Sheena away from Amethyst, she hadn’t want to let go, she was worried about what might happen in the emergency room, but she gave Sheena over without argument and let herself return to her normal size.

She felt exhausted, she didn’t usually hold the purple puma form for very long, just long enough to wrestle really, but this wasn’t wrestling. She slowly went over, sluggish from exhaustion, dragging her feet as she wandered over to Steven and Connie who had taken a seat in the waiting area and were playing cards with Steven’s pocket deck he carried with him.

She sat beside them, she was worried, she wanted to help Sheena in any way she could. Sheena had been a big sister figure for several months, even before she had become a gem, and Amethyst didn’t like seeing her hurt.

Connie, Steven and Amethyst remained in the waiting room, they played card games, tried card tricks, I spy, but nothing could distract them for long. They waited anxiously, Sheena hadn’t woken up yet, but with all the time it was taking to fix her up Pearl must have done some real damage.

Mrs. Maheswaran stepped out of the emergency room after a while, Mrs. Maheswaran sighed as she stretched, her feet hurt from stranding for so long and her back hurt from bending over the injured woman. “Well I’ve done what I can, she’ll be fine with lots of time to rest, and I suggest pain killers until she’s fully healed”

She explained as she removed her bloodstained gloves and her surgical mask. She knew it was late, three hours past Connie’s bedtime but she knew that none of them were willing to sleep with Sheena so banged up.

“What was wrong with her mom?” Connie asked the dreaded question.  None of them were sure if they wanted to know the list of injuries that would have Mrs. Maheswaran preforming emergency surgery for four hours straight.

“Well, to start off three of her ribs are broken, I’ve done what I can but if she’s not careful they won’t heal properly” She saw Steven and Amethyst nod, she knew they would be doing their best to keep Sheena from hurting herself further. “She had an injury on her head but we stitched it up, and she had a large gash running down her side but we stitched that up too, the biggest issue is the broken ribs though” She explained, she was a professional, Sheena may be a friend but she had to be straight to the point, they needed to know what injuries she had.

“I’m going to head back to the temple and tell Garnet will you be ok Steven?” Amethyst asked, she sounded so defeated, her voice held such exhaustion, she hadn’t even used her favourite nickname of ‘Ste-man’ when talking to Steven, which is very unlike her.

“Amethyst are you sure you should be leaving by yourself?” Steven asked, Amethyst looked exhausted, he didn’t want her trying to head back and getting herself hurt, she could be poofed, maybe worse.

“Yeah I’ll be fine, I need to tell Garnet that Sheena’s safe” Amethyst replied.

“Let me go back with you, I don’t think you should go alone” Steven insisted, he’s seen Amethyst get hurt before, he didn’t want to see it again. She sighed, she knew she wouldn’t win against Steven and his puppy dog eyes.

“Ok Steven” She gave in, she looked up at Mrs. Maheswaran, she needed to make sure Sheena would be ok.

“I’m keeping her overnight, she can go home tomorrow if she’s careful not to disturb the injuries, go home and get some rest” Mrs. Maheswaran replied. Amethyst nodded before leaving with Steven, they slowly made their way home, the temple seemed like worlds away from where they were.

She yawned, she felt like she could sleep for years after tonight. By the time they got back to the temple, Amethyst was leaning heavily on Steven, eyes half closed, she was about to pass out from exhaustion.

“Come on Amethyst just a bit further and you can sleep on my bed” Steven offered as he helped her climb the stairs.

“Sounds nice” Amethyst yawned, two, small sharper teeth on the top of her mouth looked like cute little vampire fangs to Steven, he had to keep himself from aweing at it, he hadn’t known Amethyst had little fangs.

He opened the door only to see Garnet leaning against the counter, Pearl sat on the couch, arms crossed as she hugged herself, looking down at her knees as she sat there.

Both Garnet and Pearl looked up upon hearing the door open. Amethyst glared weakly, she tried to charge at Pearl but ended up falling face first on the floor instead. She was way too tired to be able to do anything, let alone fighting, even if she was really mad at Pearl.

Steven helped her up again, she leaned on him tiredly, she really needed some sleep.

“Is she safe?” Garnet asked simply.

Steven nodded silently, he was also tired, not as tired as Amethyst, but little half humans need their sleep.

Garnet nodded before shooing them both to bed, they ended up passing out side by side on Steven’s bed, she looked at the couch, but Pearl wasn’t there anymore, she heard a noise and looked to the temple door, Pearl was entering her room.

Garnet sighed, it had taken her hours to calm Pearl, she now knew the reason Pearl had been acting that way, but once she told Pearl what she had done to Sheena in her blind rage, Pearl had cried until just before Steven and Amethyst walked through the door. She sat down on the steps silently, she felt her shades phase out of existence in a small sparkle of light. She held her head in her hands as she kept questioning one thing.

_**‘Why didn’t I foresee this?’** _


	14. Beginning Repairs

Steven and Amethyst sat on the couch, Garnet told them they deserved an explanation for Pearl’s aggressive behaviour, and that’s what they were going to get. 

“We all know what Pearl did wasn’t right, however you need to know the reason why she did it” Garnet started off, Pearl stood a few feet behind her, powder blue eyes firmly fixated on the floor. 

Steven and Amethyst had been asking themselves that question since the incident, Pearl didn’t usually act like that, it was so out of character for the slender gem.

“As you both know Sheena looks a lot like Rose, Pearl registered Sheena gaining more gem-like powers as her becoming too much like Rose” Garnet began, it was a hard situation to explain but she was trying her best. “She figured Sheena would leave her like Rose did for Greg, and so, to keep herself from behind hurt again she lashed out, hurting Sheena in the process” She hoped they understood, Pearl had found it difficult to explain her thoughts and feelings to the fusion, she had barely understood it when it was Pearl explaining, she just hoped that the two younger crystal gems understood in some way. 

“So Pearl thought Sheena would ditch her for a man? So she decided to shove Sheena away, and got too mad to control herself” Amethyst stated bluntly, it seemed she was dumbing it down so she could understand it better.

Garnet simply nodded, Pearl’s judgement had been clouded by her fear of being left behind, which had led to blind anger, which caused her to hurt Sheena badly. Now that her thoughts were clear Pearl regretted her actions, she knew Sheena wouldn’t do such a thing, which only made her feel worse about hurting her. 

“Pearl, you know Sheena wouldn’t do something like that” Steven looked at the slender gem, whose powder blue gaze was trained on the polished wood floor in shame. 

“I know that… I just, panicked… Oh she must hate me now” Pearl covered her face with her hands as she sunk to the floor, she loved Sheena, she truly did, but she doubted Sheena would ever forgive her after what she’s done. 

“Pearl” Garnet started as powder blue eyes looked up at the fusion. “You need to communicate your feelings instead of lashing out because you’re scared, you need to explain what happened to Sheena” She stated, it wasn’t a request, it was a command.

Pearl wrapped her arms around herself as her eyes casted down towards the floor once more. She knew she had to explain herself, there wasn’t an option, she just hoped that Sheena would understand, or at the very least not kill her, that axe looked sharp. 

A knock on the door drew everyone’s attention. 

“Looks like Connie’s here” Steven rushed to open the door. Connie and her mother stood just outside the door, Sheena leaning on the railing so she didn’t strain herself too much “Hey Connie, Mrs. Maheswaran, Sheena” he greeted the three women as he moved aside to let them in.

“Hey Steven” Connie greeted

“Hello Steven” Mrs. Maheswaran said as she helped Sheena inside

“Hi Steven” Sheena smiled as Mrs. Maheswaran helped her over to the couch.

They quickly got Sheena comfortable on the couch, she told them she was fine but they didn’t want to risk agitating her injuries at all.  
After a while Connie and Mrs. Maheswaran left leaving only the gems left. Garnet and Amethyst decided to take Steven out to see Greg, all of them could sense Pearl and Sheena wanted to be alone. 

The house was dead silent, Pearl couldn’t take her eyes off the floor, she felt so guilt over what she did, she was sure the guilt would eat her alive. 

Sheena however, couldn’t take her eyes off Pearl, she was saddened that the pale gem wouldn’t look her in the eyes. Sheena was sure there was a reason behind Pearl’s aggressive behaviour, she just didn’t know what.

“I’m not mad Pearl” Sheena started, Pearl’s head snapped up, shocked blue eyes staring into pink-rimmed green ones. 

Pearl opened her mouth to ask how in the world Sheena wasn’t mad at her, but instead she found words wouldn’t come to her, her mouth kept opening and closing like a fish. 

“Yes it hurt, but I’m fine, doc said ill be good as new before I know it” Sheena smiled, she could tell Pearl felt guilty, she could read Pearl like a book, and even if Pearl had hurt her Sheena didn’t like seeing her upset. 

“But Sheena, look what I did to you!” Pearl exclaimed, she didn’t feel like she deserved Sheena’s kindness, Sheena was so nice. She hadn’t even told her why she had attacked her yet and Sheena was already trying to forgive her. 

“Pearl, I knew something was wrong, you never act like that, it must have been something big” Sheena stated, “Do you want to talk about it?”   
Pearl simply nodded, she needed to explain what happened, it was obvious Sheena already forgave her, even if she didn’t deserve it, but she wanted to tell her why she had lashed out like she had.

“I’ve told you about Rose before, haven’t I?” She asked, it was a rhetorical question, she had told Sheena her whole life story, that included all the years she was with Rose.

Sheena simply nodded, Pearl had told her everything, Sheena knew from the picture above the door that she did, in fact, look like Rose, just a wilder version.

“You’re gaining all sorts of new gem powers, when you summoned your weapon it made me start to think, what if I get close to you like I did with Rose? Would you leave me like she did for Greg? I panicked, I didn’t want to lose you… I ended up trying to push you away, I lashed out and I hurt you…” Pearl looked down, the shame and guilt was filling her entire being.

“Pearl, I would never do that to you, I don’t blame you for being scared, I would be scared too if I thought you were going to leave me.” Sheena explained gently.

“I’m so sorry Sheena” Pearl could feel herself tearing up as she apologised.

“It’s ok Pearl, I understand” Sheena gave her a warm smile, as she pulled her in for a gentle hug, she didn’t want to disturb her wounds, it would just make Pearl feel even more guilty. “Just, tell me next time ok?” 

Pearl smiled back, she was glad Sheena didn’t hate her, she felt like she had reached the light at the end of the tunnel of fear, everything could only get better.


	15. Almost There

Sheena sat beside Garnet, who was enthusiastically cheering Stevonnie on during their training session.

Sheena was busy cheering Pearl on, her and Garnet rivals for the loudest cheer. Sheena’s injuries were almost healed, her injuries never stopped her from going to watch the lessons, cheering Pearl on every time.

It was a very cloudy day, angry looking storm clouds covered the sky. It started raining, which of course meant the storm was starting.

“I guess that’s it for today” Pearl sighed as she put the sword away in her gem.

“Yes ma’am” Stevonnie replied before defusing in a flash of light, leaving behind Steven and Connie holding hands.

Sheena hurried over to pearl as fast as she could and hugged her happily, “your fighting never ceases to amaze me Pearl”

Pearl blushed, Sheena always complimented her after a sparing match, but it made her flush red every time. “Thank you, Sheena” It was obvious that Pearl still felt guilty, even though Sheena had already forgiven her. Sheena had been doing her best to make Pearl feel less guilty about it, it was somewhat working but not completely, gave her something to do though.

“Do you think I can cook dinner tonight? I’m craving an old recipe my mom would make and only I know the recipe” Sheena smiled, she wanted to repay the gems for being so nice to her.

“Oh of course, if that is what you want” Pearl smiled, she was shocked, she had never imagined that Sheena knew how to cook.

That night wonderful smells filled the house, Sheena had her laptop open on the counter, playing a playlist of her favourite songs as she cooked.

The gems watched her curiously, she hadn’t allowed anyone close enough to see what she was making, however it seemed to be a soup of some kind.

They could all smell what was being cooked but they couldn’t see it. Steven had put a movie on while they waited, he just ended up using it as an excuse to cuddle on the couch with Connie. He had put on Princess and the Frog, which was something that none of them had seen yet so it was a perfect choice. Amethyst sat in Garnets lap as they watched the movie, she knew Garnet liked to cuddle during movies. It was a secret, she was the only one other then Ruby and Sapphire who knew about it, it made her feel special really. Even if her learning the secret had come from a very bad day.

_**“Amethyst? Amethyst what’s wrong?” Garnet asked the smaller gem, she had found Amethyst curled up in a dark corner of the bubble room crying into her knees, it was strange to see the normally happy gem so upset.** _

_**“** _ _**It’s nothing” Amethyst had been startled by Garnets sudden voice, however she was quick to slip into a lie in hopes Garnet would leave her be to continue crying alone.** _

_**“It’s obviously something Amethyst” Garnet replied as she moved to sit beside the small gem.** _

_**“Just leave me alone” Amethyst sobbed, she didn’t want Garnet to see her like this, she hadn’t cried this hard since Rose had Steven.** _

_**Garnet felt tempted to use her future vision to see what the problem was but she decided against it, she wanted Amethyst to tell her herself. Suddenly an idea hit her, Amethyst was a curious gem, she was sure it would work.** _

_**“** _ _**Tell you what” Garnet started “You tell me what’s wrong, and ill tell you a little secret about myself” She finished, she could tell that she had peaked Amethyst’s interest, that’s all she needed. Amethyst didn’t want to tell Garnet what had her so upset, but her curiosity got the better of her, she wanted to know the secret so badly.** _

_**“Ok…” She gave in “Some of Pearl’s stuff fell down into my room, when I went up there to give it back and tell her what happened she jumped to conclusions that I took it and we got in a huge fight”** _

_**Garnet knew there was more to the story, Pearl and Amethyst fought all the time and Amethyst never acted like this. She waited for Amethyst to continue.** _

_**“We were screaming at each other, then she yelled at me that I never should have emerged because then none of you would have to deal with me…” Amethyst trailed off** _

_**Garnet gasped softly, that was a low blow, even for Pearl.** _

_**“Amethyst you know that’s not true, Rose loved you, I love you, Steven loves you, Pearl loves you too, She was just mad, when you’re mad you say things you don’t mean” Garnet soothed** _

_**“I know, it still hurt though…” Amethyst looked down, every time Pearl insulted her it hurt, she just pretended that it didn’t and tried to play it off with a joke.** _

_**“Just because she said it while she was mad, doesn’t mean that it has no effect on you” Garnet explained** _ _**“If her words effect you then you should tell her that she hurt your feelings, you draw a line that she can understand so hopefully she wont cross it again” Garnet offered Amethyst knew Garnet was right, she did need to communicate her feelings more, but she definitely didn’t want to discuss it now.** _

_**“You said you would tell me a secret” She changed the subject, she was dying to know what the secret was that the stoic fusion had to share.** _

_**“You’re right I did promise that” Garnet smiled, she was starting to see the happy Amethyst peeking back through.** _

_**“Tell, Tell” Amethyst pressed** _

_**“Well, you know when Steven asks us to watch those movies with him right?” She asked, the seven-year-old loved watching movies with them, even if they didn’t always understand human entertainment.** _

_**“Yeah, he does that almost every other night” Amethyst replied** _

_**“Well during those, I often wish I had someone to, cuddle with…” Garnet looked down, a blush dusting her cheeks lightly, mostly hidden by her visor.** _

_**“I never took you for a cuddler Garnet” Amethyst was stunned, Garnet always seemed so detached and unfeeling, it was strange for Garnet to say she wanted affection.** _

_**“blame Ruby, she's a big cuddler , I get it from her.  I know I don’t seem like I would like something like that, but I do, sometimes Steven cuddles with me when we watch but normally he does it with Greg or sometimes Pearl. I know if I unfuse Ruby and Sapphire could cuddle, but they don’t want to unfuse, and it’s not them who want to cuddle, it’s me.” Garnet admitted, she had kept her love of cuddling a secret, even from Rose, she always felt like she needed to be the strong one who didn’t need affection from anyone, but she longed for it.** _

_**“Well if you don’t mind, I could cuddle with you” Amethyst offered with a kind smile. Garnet smiled, visor fading away revealing her three eyes so Amethyst could see the happiness shining in each one.** _

_**“I’d like that”** _

It felt like so long ago, seven years ago, seven years since Garnet told Amethyst her secret, seven years since Amethyst suddenly started cuddling with Garnet during every movie. They could tell Pearl and Greg thought it was weird that her and Garnet were so close all of a sudden, but neither of them cared.

Sheena turned off the burner and looked over at them, they had been waiting patiently for a few hours while she made dinner. She was finally finished and excited for them all to try it.

“Dinners ready”

In seconds, the movie was paused and they were all rushing over to the counter, bowls had been set out for everyone and the pot sat in the middle of the counter, steaming from the heat of the soup within.

“Sorry it took so long, I made the noodles from scratch like my mom” Sheena smiled, she always loved it when her mom made this for her.

“I’m sure it will be worth the wait” Garnet replied as everyone filled their bowls

Soon everyone had their soup and was settled on the couch again, Steven and Connie sat side by side, Pearl and Sheena sat together, and Amethyst sat in Garnets lap, with Garnet using Amethyst’s head as a table for her bowl.

Connie was the first to try it, the noodles were soft, flavourful after soaking in the broth for so long. The bits of chicken added an extra burst of flavour that was so satisfying, the salt and pepper that had been added too the soup just added onto to the amazing flavour.

“Sheena this is amazing!” she cheered as she started to eat faster

Steven was next “this is great!”

“You’ve got my thumbs up” Amethyst

“Very delicious” Garnet

“this is quite good Sheena, definitely worth the wait” Pearl smiled up at her, gaining a smile in return.

“I’m glad you all like it” Sheena started eating her own bowl, it was just like her mother used to make, it almost brought tears to her eyes thinking about her.

Steven unpaused the movie just before the song ‘almost there’ started playing. They all ate while watching the movie happily, curling up together as they watched the characters sing and dance.

Sheena smiled, if she could be stuck in a time loop, she would want to be stuck on this night, just so she could relive it over and over again, that’s how nice it was.

Steven and Connie ended up falling asleep about halfway through the movie, Amethyst and Garnet followed, curled up together sleeping peacefully, Sheena followed soon after, leaving Pearl awake.

Pearl got up quietly and started to clean up the mess from dinner, giving glanced back to Sheena every now and then, she knew her constant guilt was upsetting Sheena, but she couldn’t help it, Sheena had forgiven her but… She couldn’t forgive herself until Sheena was fully healed.

Pearl sighed as she finished putting the dishes away _‘Almost there’_


	16. Sheena's Night

(Warning now, this won’t be very long, its basically a filler chapter just to get something out while I try to figure out what to do next)

 

Sheena lay on the couch fiddling with a Rubix cube, the gems had left on a mission with Steven at around six in the morning, that had been thirteen hours ago, it was now seven in the evening and they still weren’t back yet. Sheena had every confidence they would be ok, they always were.

She fiddled with the rubix cube, she had found it on the coffee table, she hadn’t played with a Rubix cube since she was little, she felt quite silly playing with the children’s toy but she always did enjoy a challenge.

She sighed, as she put the rubix cube on the coffee table before standing up and heading over to the kitchen. She was starting to regain her appetite, which was a huge relief to all the gems, they didn’t know if she was half gem or full gem yet, it was all new territory.

She searched the fridge curiously, finding some ingredients and starting dinner. She looked around the empty house, about three months ago she would have dreamed of being alone for the night, now she just felt pathetic and sad.

She missed the gems, she hadn’t gone with them because Pearl refused to let her lift a finger if she didn’t have to until she was fully healed. She looked down to the bandages around her chest and stomach, touching the soft fabric over the slowly healing wound on her side.

She sighed in boredom as she finished cooking her dinner, chicken and broccoli, simple, but good. She ate quickly, wanting to move on with the night.

After cleaning her dishes and putting them away so Pearl wouldn’t pitch a fit, she walked back over to the couch. She looked at the Rubix cube for a moment and wondered if she wanted to mess it up and complete it again for the sixth time that night.

Deciding against it, she looked around the house trying to find something else to occupy her time, it was too late to go out on a Sunday night. She walked around the crystalline warp pad and to the temple door, looking at the gemstone on the door, sitting just outside the star, right in-between the Ruby and Sapphire gemstones.

The gemstone glowed pink before the door opened revealing her ballroom-style bedroom. She walked into the temple silently, looking at all the stained-glass windows, light pouring in through the colored pieces though it was nighttime outside, she assumed it was just part of the temples magic and dismissed it.

She sat down on the plush bed, relaxing into the soft material, the gems had done an amazing job designing her room, it was perfect. They had even added a TV and a new shelf for all her favourite movies, they were so thoughtful.

She had been confined to her bed for several days after the incident, everyone would check in on her from time to time. Pearl acted as head nurse unless Garnet called her away for a mission, then the position fell to Amethyst, or Steven if Amethyst was also going on said mission.

  
Sheena smiled, Connie’s mother had told her she would have the green light to start going on missions in just a few days, and honestly, she couldn’t be happier. She was going crazy being cooped up inside the house or the temple all day, she hadn’t even gone on her first official mission yet!

She sat up and looked down at her gem, she still didn’t know exactly what she could do, she could somewhat shapeshift, and she had summoned a weapon, but she hadn’t done anything else besides that. She was itching to find out what else she could do.

She stood from her bed and walked to the middle of the room, she started thinking about everything that she had seen the gems do.

Shapeshifting, but that made her frustrated. Fusing, can’t do that without a partner, summon a weapon, but she can do that. She had seen pearl make holograms with her gem, maybe she could try that.

She thought about how Pearl did it, she closed her eyes and imagined what Pearl had done. She remembered Pearl’s gem glowing brightly before a hologram had appeared, she didn’t know how Pearl had done that, but it had been amazing.

“You’ll get it I’m sure” Sheena’s eyes snapped open, wide in shock as she took in what stood before her.

It was a hologram of Pearl, standing there smiling kindly. She hadn’t known how she had made the hologram, but it was perfect, not a hair out of place. She stood there amazed, watching the hologram in amazement.

Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, nothing but a small shimmer of light to show that something had been there just seconds beforehand.

  
She decided to leave that be for a while, maybe talk to Pearl about it some time, and decided to practice her shapeshifting instead. She always practiced something she was frustrated with until she got it, which her father never liked, her mom loved it, said it was one of her best traits.

She stopped that thought train in seconds, she did not want to think about her parents, especially her father.

She sat on the bed deciding to practice something small. Maybe a ball? She looked at her hand and turned it into a fist. She started practicing, smoothing out the sides of her hand to make it smooth and round.

She practiced for hours, she practiced well passed the point of exhaustion. She eventually flopped onto the bed, sweat clinging to her face turning cold and making her shiver.

She pulled the blanket up over her head, wrapping herself up like a burrito. She sighed happily, the blanket was so warm, such a comfort at the moment.

‘You’re so lazy! Get your lazy ass out of bed now!’

Sheena shot up, eyes wide from shock. She quickly scrambled out of the bed, kicking the nice, warm blanket away from her, making herself shiver from the cold sweat once again.

The voice had been defined, as if her father was standing right next to her. Sheena shivered, she was freezing, but the last thing she wanted to do was hear her father again.

She sighed and laid on the polished floor, it served just to make her colder, but she didn’t want to move. She looked up at the ceiling and her eyes widened, she had never noticed before, but the ceiling also had stained-glass.

It wasn’t made into a picture like the windows were, it was just many different colors, casting rainbow colored light onto the floor. It was strange that she had never noticed it before, seeing it was so pretty.

She smiled softly as she noticed something else, it wasn’t just a random pattern of colors, there was something there after all.

The gems names, made up of stained-glass on the ceiling, even her name was up there. She saw Garnet’s name, Ruby and Sapphire’s names close by, Pearl and Amethyst’s names were close to each other, with Steven’s name in the middle, even Lapis and Peridot’s names were also up there, though Sheena had not met them yet. She even saw her name up there, right next to Pearl’s name in various shades of pink stained-glass.

She smiled once more, eyelids feeling heavy as she allowed herself to drift off into sleep, still laying on the cold polished floor, in the light from the multicolored ceiling.


	17. Halloween Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (This is heavily MysteryPearl and Gamethyst, but also halloween-ness, kisses to go around and sad amethyst)

Sheena walked with Pearl, Ruby and Sapphire happily, making quiet chat as they followed Steven, Connie and Amethyst around Beach city. The three youngest crystal gems bounded around happily in their costumes as the three older beings followed them with smiles on their faces at their excitement. 

Sheena walked silently, shapeshifted Sylveon ears on her head, soft pink fur covering the long ears. A matching tail hung out from the bottom of her white sweater, just above her faded jeans. Cute ribbons coiled around her ears, a bow around her neck starting another sting of ribbons that went down her back. Her soft, pink hair flowing slightly in the wind as she walked with Pearl hanging onto her arm gently. 

Pearl walked beside her happily, a delighted smile lighting up her face as she walked with the taller gem. Amethyst had painted her gem red, much to her protest, ‘gotta be accurate’ she had said. Her shapeshifted ears atop her head, that Sheena had convinced her to do for the occasion, fluffy fur catching the cold of the wind as she walked, the graceful tail, split at the end sticking out from her clothing, swaying slightly with her movements. 

The two gems walked happily, arms linked as they followed the younger gems around the city, Ruby and Sapphire giggling quietly beside them as they walked hand in hand, getting amused looks from other Beach City residents who play the ‘pokemon’ games and know that the two little gems were dressed as ‘Flareon’ and ‘Glaceon’

Ruby had fluffy yellow fur around her neck, soft, furry, red ears on her head, and a very fluffy yellow tail swishing behind her that Sapphire just wouldn’t leave alone. 

"Sapphire!" Ruby squealed as her lover started messing with her tail again. She didnt mind her lovers actions, but quite embarrassed by her doing it in public like that, especially with Steven 

“I can’t resist Ruby, it’s just so cute” Sapphire giggled as she hugged her blushing lover happily, her own shapeshifted tail swishing happily.   
Sapphire’s blue ears stuck out of her own hair as her tail swished happily, giggling with her red lover as they ignored any looks they gained from observers. 

Pearl and Sheena smiled at the two smaller gems, it was nice to see them without a major issue, like them fighting or Sheena’s temperature crisis. They turned their attention back to the three younger gems who were running around excitedly in their costumes, Connie’s homemade Leafeon ears attached to a headband she wore, her green and beige tail attached to her belt and a happy smile on her face, wearing a cute cream-colored dress and a dot of face paint on her nose.

Steven’s costume was also homemade, furry eevee ears atop his head attached to the headband, Pearl had helped him make the costume, and it was very cute, Connie had blushed when she saw it. He had a fluffy bunch of cream-colored fur around his neck much like Ruby did, wearing light brown clothing with the fluffy tail attached to the belt of his costume. 

Amethyst had been dragged into dressing up as well, not that she minded since it came with the promise of free candy. Sheena had used some of her makeup to give Amethyst a cute little nose and had painted the rest of her face a pale, purplish grey. Fluffy Espurr ears at on her head, wearing a cute grey dress that was rimmed with white, a small but very fluffy tail escaping from a small hole in the back. She actually quite liked her costume, though she usually hated dresses with a burning passion. 

She ran with Steven and Connie excitedly, going to from house to house in search of the promised candy. The other gems following behind them, keeping a careful watch over the excited kids.

She could hear Ruby and Sapphire giggling quietly as Pearl and Sheena talked, she couldn’t exactly hear their conversation, but she could tell they were just talking about their sword training since Sheena had gotten over her cold.

No one even knew how she had gotten sick to begin with, she hadn’t told them anything about it, they had just assumed she caught it randomly, but gems didn’t get sick, even Steven barely got sick, and the new Agate was definitely more gem then Steven was. 

Amethyst shuddered, suddenly unsettled by the thought that Sheena was an Agate, the same type of gem as Holly Blue, who was doing who knows what to her sisters at the human zoo. 

She snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed Steven and Connie running up to the next house happily, she quickly ran to catch up, embarrassed that she got lost in her thoughts so easily, it was a strange thing for her to do.

“Did Amethyst just space out?” Ruby asked, a mix of confusion and concern lacing her voice as she looked at Sapphire

“She did, but that’s not like her at all” Sapphire replied, thinking of possible reasons for Amethyst’s behaviour, trying not to use her future vision unless necessary. 

“Do you think she’s ok?” Ruby asked

“I don’t know…” Sapphire trailed off into thought as the two lovers followed the group down the street.

Sheena and Pearl walked happily, chatting quietly as they walked. Sheena blew some air at Pearl’s neck, making he pale gem shiver from the sensation and blush a bright shade of blue that made Sheena giggle.

“Come here you” Sheena grinned as she picked up the small gem, pushing her lips onto Pearl’s as the blushing gem’s eyes widened in shock, her blush growing across her face.

She leaned in, kissing the Agate back happily, fireworks literally exploding in the sky as they kissed. Both gems blushing as the sweet kiss turned into a small make out session, their eyes closing, shielding illuminated iris’s as they continued in the passionate kiss.

Sheena pulled away, peppering Pearl’s face in kisses as the thin gem giggled happily, smiling as they resumed their walk, following the younger gems on their quest for candy.

As the night dragged on, Steven and Connie went back to the temple, tuckered out from trick or treating, and desperate to rummage through their loot bags to see what candy they got. Pearl and Sheena had separated from the group a few hours beforehand, disappearing into the night, Amethyst guessed they were going to hit the boardwalk, they were having a karaoke contest and Pearl wasn’t one to miss a singing competition.

Amethyst found herself alone, Ruby and Sapphire had disappeared to who knows where, leaving the small gem alone and sad. Steven had Connie, Pearl had Sheena, and Ruby and Sapphire, but who did she have? No one, that’s who. She sighed as she sat on the beach silently, well away from the temple, that last thing she wanted to do was ruin Steven and Connie’s date, she had helped Steven pick a movie for him and Connie to watch when they returned to the temple for candy and snuggling while they enjoyed the movie. 

Amethyst looked out at the waves, her hair flowing in the breeze as she teared up, trying to blink away the stubborn tears as she watched the black waves rolling quietly, the reflection of the full moon on the water moving with each wave. 

It wasn’t just the other crystal gems, everyone in beach city had someone to hang with that night, even Greg had plans! Amethyst sighed, she felt pathetic, for a moment she even considered going to visit her kindergarden, so she could be away from all the happy humans and gems in the city.

Ruby and Sapphire walked down the beach happily, giggling and talking quietly as they walked, the pale, moonlit sand crunching softly beneath their feet. They hadn’t split up for a date in a long time, and it felt nice to be unfused for a good reason. 

“Hey Sapphire look” Ruby said as she pointed down the beach at something

Sapphire looked in the direction her lover was pointing, seeing a huddled up figure sitting on the beach silently, pale purple, almost white hair flowing in the wind. 

“Is that Amethyst?” She asked quietly, looking at Ruby in confusion

Ruby simply nodded, wondering why Amethyst was sitting by herself on the beach, when they had split from the group Amethyst was still with Pearl, Sheena, Connie and Steven. Why was she alone now?

"She looks sad" Ruby said quietly, looking at her silent lover in concern. Amethyst was always such a happy gem, why did she look so upset?  
“This might be about what she had been thinking about earlier” Sapphire said softly, trying to piece together the purple gem’s strange behaviour from the entire night, but it wasn’t adding up.

“I wish we could help…” Ruby trailed off sadly as her beautiful Sapphire stared forward in thought, most likely consulting her future vision.  
Sapphire grabbed Rubys hand gently, brushing her bangs aside to look at Ruby with her stunning blue eye. Ruby blushed, almost turning the sand beneath her feet to glass as the blush consumed her face, making it a darker red then usual.

"Garnet can help Amethyst" Sapphire told Ruby quietly, smiling softly as the red gem broke out into a wide grin at the idea of fusing again.  
She picked Sapphire up, spinning her happily as they giggled in unison, spinning until their bodies merged once more into Garnet.

Garnet opened her three heterochromatic eyes, looking down the beach towards the small, purple gem. She debated whether to put her shades on, but in the end, she decided this wasn’t the time for hiding her eyes. She made her way towards the purple gem quietly as she noticed that Ruby and Sapphire’s costumes had somewhat carried over to her, but the ears and tail had turned into the creature Steven had called an ‘Umbreon’. The black ears sat atop her head, a ring of yellow on each ear glowing faintly in the night, a matching tail swishing silently behind her as she walked to the smaller gem.

Amethyst sat on the beach, quietly watching the shiny black waves rolling towards the shore. She had long since lost the battle to hold back her tears, the glistening drops traveling down her cheeks and dripping onto her knees. She felt so lonely, she wanted someone to talk to, it was supposed to be such an exciting night, only to end up alone and sad… Same as always… 

She didn’t want to disturb Steven’s cuddle time with Connie, she would never do that. She had almost begged Pearl and Sheena to take her with them but she didn’t want to ruin their night either, she had already ruined so many missions lately, part of her wondered if anyone even wanted her around anymore.

“Halloween is best enjoyed with others you know” 

Amethyst jumped in surprise, she hadn’t heard the soft crunch of the sand, footsteps approaching, nothing, it had been silent. She looked up as the source of the very familiar voice, finding her leader standing beside her, staring down at her with her three heterochromatic eyes, her visor nowhere in sight. 

Amethyst looked up at her normally stoic leader, trying to will the tears away, the last thing she wanted was to look weak to Garnet. “Sorry… Didn’t hear you coming…”

“It’s hard to hear anything when you’re crying” Garnet replied, staring into Amethyst’s sad indigo eyes, as if trying to read her mind through her eyes.

Amethyst wiped her tears away on the sleeve of her dress, not even trying to deny that she was crying, there was no hope in trying to deny it. She stayed silent, willing herself not to tear up again at the thought hat Garnet was seeing her crying over something so stupid. 

“What’s wrong Amethyst?” Garnet asked as she sat down in front of the smaller gem.

“Nothing… I’m just being stupid…” Amethyst looked down, unable to stop the tears from welling up again.

“If something is upsetting you then it isn’t you ‘being stupid’, you need to tell me what’s wrong” Garnet replied sternly, leaving no room for misunderstanding, she wanted an answer.

Amethyst sighed in defeat, she knew Garnet wouldn’t let her be until she got what she wanted, and Garnet would easily call her out if she lied, she was never good at lying.

“Just lonely. Everyone has a date tonight but me, Sorry to disrupt Ruby and Sapphire’s date…” Amethyst trailed off, she felt worse for ruining the two lover’s night, but why had they fused just to talk to her?

“You didn’t, they had a wonderful time together, but they’ve been worried about you all night” Garnet replied, pulling the purple gem into her lap gently, surprised indigo eyes looking up at her.

“Why would they be worried about me?” she asked confused, looking up at the tall fusion 

“Why wouldn’t they be worried? They know how much I like you” Garnet replied

Amethyst was stunned into silence, eyes widened in shock. Was Garnet saying what she thought she was saying?

“What are you-” Amethyst was cut off suddenly, eyes wide in shock as Garnet’s lips connected with hers. A dark purple blush spread across her cheeks at the unexpected action.

Garnet held the small quartz close as fireworks exploded in the dark, night sky above them. Her three heterochromatic eyes hidden behind her eyelids as she kissed the smaller gem passionately

Amethyst’s eyes fluttered closed, leaning into the kiss happily as the taller gem pulled her closer. She knew she had a crush on the fusion for a long time, several hundred years to be more specific, but she never even imagined Garnet would return her feelings. Garnet was a relationship, she doubted Ruby and Sapphire would like her falling in love with their fusion… but she couldn’t help herself.

They sat like that for several minutes, kissing passionately on the moonlit sand for what felt like only a few seconds. They pulled away, wishing it didn’t have to end even though they both knew it had to end eventually.

They looked into each others eyes silently, both blushing as they smiled at each other, Garnet pulling Amethyst close as they watched the waves happily, cuddling until the sun rose into the sky, changing the sky from the black night into a beautiful sunrise.


End file.
